No First Come First Serve Basis For Satcom Allocation: Scindia

SUMMARY

Telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that it is not possible to auction spectrum for satcom service due to the science associated with it and added that no country has so far done so

The minister also said that it is “physically impossible” to auction satcom spectrum

Telcos have vehemently opposed the government’s plans to assign spectrum through administrative process and have pitched for the auction route.

Clearing the air around assignment of satcom spectrum, telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia reportedly said that satellite airwaves will not be allocated on a first come first serve basis.

Scindia made the comment while replying to a question which cited the 2G case when the spectrum was assigned without auction, news agency PTI reported.

Citing his rationale, Scindia said that it is not possible to auction spectrum for satcom service due to the science associated with it, adding that no country has so far auctioned satcom waves.

“… That pricing is not going to be on a first come first serve basis. None of this stuff. It’s going to be decided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). That authority will assign that price, and based on that, the spectrum will be assigned to everyone that procures a licence,” Scindia said.

The minister also said that it is “physically impossible” to auction satcom spectrum.

“How can you auction something that is shared? You can only auction something that is committed to a certain individual? So satellite phones, for example, you have to point your antenna, and that’s when you get the signal, and it keeps shifting. Therefore, that spectrum is shared,” the minister was quoted as saying.

This comes a couple of months after Scindia reiterated that satcom spectrum would be allocated administratively but would come at a cost. At the time, he added that the cost of spectrum and the formula of allocation would be decided by TRAI.

Earlier this week, Scindia also met representatives of satcom players, including Bharti-backed Eutelsat Oneweb, Jio-SES, Hughes Communications, among others, to chalk out a plan to boost the local space communication sector. In a post on X, he said that the Centre plans to develop a “self-sufficient space communications sector” to foster opportunities in satellite manufacturing and launch services.

The developments come at a time when telecom operators have vehemently opposed government’s plans to assign spectrum through administrative process and have pitched for the auction route.

A couple of months back, telecom giant Reliance Jio shot off a letter to TRAI and batted for an auction of the satcom spectrum. It also called for revising the consultation paper floated by the telecom regulator, noting that the paper overlooked the critical aspect of a level-playing field between satellite and terrestrial networks.

In late September, TRAI issued a consultation process to explore the methodology and pricing for assigning spectrum to satcom companies.