Authors: Aditya Kalra and Aditi Shah
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance is arguing that the telecommunications regulator wrongly concluded that home satellite broadband spectrum should be allocated rather than auctioned, according to a letter seen by Reuters , intensifying the dispute with Elon Musk’s Starlink.
The methodology for making spectrum available for satellite services in India – a market that Deloitte estimates is expected to grow 36% annually and reach $1.9 billion by 2030 – has been controversial since last year.
Musk’s Starlink and global partners such as Amazon’s (NASDAQ:) Project Kuiper support the administrative allocation, while Ambani – Asia’s richest man who runs India’s Reliance Jio – favors the auction process.
The current dispute centers on the interpretation of Indian law, which some industry officials say paved the way for spectrum allocation last year as Musk desired.
However, Reliance says there are no regulations for satellite broadband services for individual or home users, industry sources said on Sunday.
Telecom regulator TRAI is conducting public consultations, but Reliance, in a private letter dated October 10 and seen by Reuters, asked for the process to start anew because the regulator had “pre-emptively interpreted” that allocation was the right solution.
“TRAI appears to have wrongly concluded that spectrum allocation should be administrative in nature,” Reliance senior regulatory official Kapoor Singh Guliani wrote in a letter to Indian Telecommunications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
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Trai in its consultation paper pointed out that Indian law mandates allocation of spectrum for such services without any study, Reliance added in its letter.
“We have requested TRAI to amend the consultation document” to ensure a level playing field, Reliance Jio said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday, adding that “it is imperative that TRAI also holds consultations on the methodology for allocating” spectrum.
A senior TRAI official said on Sunday that due procedures are being followed and Reliance may share its views during the consultation period.
The regulator’s recommendations will be the basis for the government’s decision on this matter.
Tesla (NASDAQ:) CEO Musk is interested in launching Starlink in India, although the final decision on spectrum allocation remains a controversial issue.
Starlink argues that the administrative allocation of licenses is part of a global trend. Reliance says the auction is necessary to ensure a level playing field as foreign players could offer voice and data services and compete with classic players, Reuters reports.
Reliance’s Jio is India’s largest telecom player with 480 million users.
