India’s Satellite Spectrum Allocation 'Plan' Gains Musk’s Support Amid Criticism Of Ambani’s Auction Push

Billionaire Elon Musk has appreciated the Central government's stance that India will allot spectrum for satellite broadband administratively and not via auction.

Musk had strongly opposed rival billionaire and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani's push for spectrum auction and criticised it as “unprecedented".

The Indian government's announcement came hours after Musk criticised the auction route. 

"Much appreciated! We will do our best to serve the people of India with Starlink," Musk said in response to a post.

Speaking at an event in New Delhi, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said that the spectrum will be allocated administratively in line with Indian laws.

“If you do decide to auction it, then you will be doing something which is different from the rest of the world," Scindia said.

Musk's Starlink has backed the government-issued license system as is followed globally, while Ambani's Reliance had backed the auction route to “ensure a level playing field", the report noted.

Notably, Bharti Airtel's Sunil Mittal, who is co-chair of global satellite group Eutelsat, had also expressed support for the auction route on 15 October.

"Satellite companies who have ambitions to come into urban areas, serving elite retail customers, just need to take the telecom licenses like everybody else... they need to buy the spectrum as telecom companies buy," Mittal stated.

However, Musk's Starlink and some global peers like Amazon's Project Kuiper back an administrative allocation, saying spectrum is a natural resource that should be shared by companies.  

On Sunday, Reuters reported that Reliance has objected to the Indian telecom regulator's consultation process, which recommends allocating satellite broadband spectrum instead of auctioning it.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is the regulatory body, and its final recommendations will significantly influence the Centre’s decision.

The satellite spectrum consists of radio frequencies used for satellite communications, and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a United Nations agency, allocates these frequencies for various services.

India is a member of the ITU and has signed its treaty.

As the Indian satellite services market is expected to grow by 36 percent annually to reach $1.9 billion by 2030, multiple stakeholders are eyeing a maximum share.

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