Satellite spectrum: Jio, Airtel bat for restricted validity of 3-5 years

Elon Musk's Starlink and Amazon's Kuiper have proposed the 'shared spectrum' be given to them for 20 years

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are pushing for a restricted validity on the assignment of spectrum for satellite broadband communications, proposing an initial period of three-five years before a government reassessment of the assignment terms and pricing methodology.

 

This follows a recent remark by Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in which he indicated that the airwaves for satellite broadband services might be offered at an administratively determined price and not via the auction model.

 

This stance placed India’s telecom giants in direct competition with international players like Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper, which have urged the regulator to allocate “shared spectrum” for a standard 20-year term in line with terrestrial licenses.

 

Pitching for administered assignment of spectrum, both Starlink and Kuiper have emphasised the need for a longer validity to ensure the financial viability and scalability of satellite broadband services.

 

In its feedback to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) last month, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Mittal-controlled OneWeb, which has deployed its global LEO satellite constellation, argued that while it supports a 20-year spectrum assignment, it is “critical that all necessary regulatory requirements are clarified by the regulator or licensor at the earliest”. OneWeb highlighted that, given the nascent stage of the industry and the pressing need to utilise existing satellite resources, the regulator might consider an initial validity period of three to five years to facilitate an early launch of services.

 

Echoing this view, Bharti Airtel stated that satellite communications, particularly non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) services, are still in their infancy and could dramatically reshape the telecommunications landscape and response to the terms and conditions for the assignment of spectrum for certain satellite-based commercial communication Services were still not yet known. Airtel proposed that “satellite spectrum may be assigned for a validity of 3-5 years now, and the situation may be reassessed thereafter”. It justified its stance saying that in any case, the immediate need in India is connecting the hitherto unconnected areas, and a validity of 3-5 years is adequate to encourage SatCom for this purpose and then “to evaluate whether there is a need to review the assignment and pricing methodology, considering the fast technological changes”.

 

Airtel -- which had been pushing for administered pricing of spectrum until recently -- also proposed a dual strategy: Auctioning spectrum in urban areas while administering it in underserved, remote regions where connectivity needs are most pressing.

 

Reliance Jio, in contrast, has primarily advocated for auction-based spectrum allocation. The company has suggested two alternatives: If auctioned, spectrum should be assigned for 20 years, consistent with terrestrial spectrum policies. Alternatively, in the case of administrative assignment, Jio recommends a maximum three-year term, including the roll-out period, followed by a reassessment by the Department of Telecommunication under Section 4(5)(a) of the Act before any spectrum is reassigned.

 

Starlink, however, has advocated for a 20-year spectrum term, arguing that the "shared" nature of satellite spectrum mitigates competitive disadvantages for new entrants. In its submission to Trai, Starlink emphasised that long-term assignments would allow satellite broadband providers to recoup capital investments and deliver affordable services at scale. “A shorter period of validity (and therefore reduced profitability),” Starlink warned, “will force the satellite broadband industry to focus on the short term by prioritising the recouping of costs as quickly as possible” thus diminishing focus on affordability at scale.  

 

Amazon’s Kuiper has echoed similar sentiment, urging Trai to adopt a 20-year or licence-duration spectrum assignment, whichever is shorter. It argued that doing so would allow greater regulatory certainty and facilitate timely deployment of satellite services, which require significant investment in billions of dollars and many years of planning.