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The latest clash revolves around whether the government should auction off satellite spectrum or simply allocate it arbitrarily
Recent months have seen tensions flare between Elon Musk and Indian telecoms moguls Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal continue, with the trio clashing over the nation’s satellite spectrum policy.
Back in 2021, India’s Department of Telecoms (DoT) announced that it was considering auctioning spectrum for satellite broadband players, going against the industry standard of simply allocating the frequencies.
This week, however, the issue appears to be resolved, with the Indian communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia confirming that the government has no plans to auction satellite spectrum, as feared by Musk.
The idea of auctioning satellite spectrum was controversial from the beginning. Detractors argued that the heavy price tags likely to be attached to the spectrum would dissuade smaller players from participating in the auction and provide the deep-pocketed mobile giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel with an unfair advantage.
Both Jio and Airtel have major satellite ambitions for India, with the market estimated to be worth $1.9 billion by 2030. Reliance’s Jio Platforms formed a joint venture with satellite operator SES back in 2022, aiming to launch their own satellite broadband services as Reliance Jio Satellite Communications. Airtel, meanwhile, is partnered with Eutelsat to use its OneWeb constellation, in which Airtel has been an investor since 2021.
As such, it should come as little surprise that the owners of Jio and Airtel – Mukesh Ambani Sunil Mittal, respectively – have been vocal proponents for the auction strategy. They argue that commercial satellite broadband players serving urban customers should be forced to pay for spectrum in the same way that traditional wireless operators do.
There is also an element of speed to market here. Both Jio and Airtel’s commercial satellite offerings are far less mature than Musk’s Starlink, hence there is a risk of Starlink capturing the lion’s share of the market before its rivals can adequately react. With the Indian government increasingly insistent on keeping control of the telecoms and tech industries in the hands of domestic companies, this outcome would likely be unacceptable.
Nonetheless, the comments from the Indian communications minister this week suggest it is unlikely that the government will eschew the conventional wisdom of the International Telecommunication Union and will stick with the typical allocation method.
Musk was quick to praise the decision earlier this week, saying thank you in a Tweet:
Much appreciated! We will do our best to serve the people of India with Starlink.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2024
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