Elon Musk has expressed gratitude to Jyotiraditya Scindia, India’s telecom minister, for refusing to support Indian billionaires Sunil Bharti Mittal and Mukesh Ambani in the contentious sale of spectrum for satellite services. Musk wrote on X (previously Twitter) in response to Scindia’s declaration that there will not be a satellite spectrum auction, “Thank you! We’ll try our hardest to provide Starlink to Indians.
Due to their divergent views on spectrum allotment, Musk and Indian billionaire Ambani Mittal are at odds over the matter. Reliance Jio, which is controlled by Ambani, has requested an evaluation of its hiring procedure for satellite-based communication services. They emphasize the necessity for a level playing field and think that satellite bandwidth should be put up for auction to guarantee equity between satellite and terrestrial providers. Mittal’s Bharti Airtel has echoed this view.
The global standard is commodities sales, while Musk’s satellite Internet startup, Starlink, favors operating cash flow. Scindia’s stance is in line with this strategy. In accordance with international standards, the Telecom Minister emphasized that the Telecom Act of 2023 will allocate satellite spectrum in India on an operational basis. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will determine the pricing, not through an auction procedure, even though the spectrum will not be free.
It was stated by TRAI chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti that the consultation process was taking into account the opinions of all parties involved. Data will inform TRAI’s recommendations, guaranteeing a fair result.
The main topic of discussion has been how India should distribute its satellite spectrum. While telecom behemoths like Jio and Airtel are seeking for divestitures, Musk and Starlink are arguing for licenses to sustain their satellite broadband business, which might help millions of Indians.
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