Auction vs Allocation: War escalates between companies over satcom spectrum

An all-out war is underway over the method by which spectrum will be awarded in India for broadband from space services. Satellite companies such as Jeff Bezos-led Amazon, Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, Elon Musk’s Starlink, Canada’s Telesat and US-based Hughes want allotment via the administrative route as is the global practice. But Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea say airwaves should be auctioned to ensure a competitive landscape.

The ball is now in the court of the telecom regulator, which recently concluded an intense consultation process, culminating in a marathon open-house discussion on July 14 that lasted almost 12 hours with about 30 speakers from across the world pressing their views.