Reliance Jio has told the telecom regulator that the latest consultation paper on allocating spectrum to satellite service providers has completely overlooked the critical issue of ensuring a level playing field between satellite-based and terrestrial access services.
“This omission has resulted in the lack of any questions addressing the need to create a level playing field between these services. Consequently, stakeholders will not be able to adequately consider and provide relevant inputs to TRAI, thereby undermining the fairness of recommendations and the Government of India’s intent to promote balanced competition,” Reliance Jio said in a letter to the Trai.
The TRAI paper had cited examples from other countries where satellite spectrum has been assigned through an administrative mechanism, with spectrum charges levied in the form of an administratively determined fee.
“The paper’s tilt towards administrative spectrum assignment undermines Section 4 of The Telecommunications Act, 2023. Section 4(5)(a) of the Act emphasizes auction as the default method for assigning spectrum for commercial services,” Jio said.
The consultation process comes even as the industry is sharply divided over allocation and use of spectrum. While the traditional telecom operators including Reliance Jio have called for an auction mechanism to determine pricing, satellite players have pushed for administrative allocation.
RJIO has asked “TRAI to reconsider and revise the consultation paper, incorporating specific questions that address the level playing field issues between satellite and terrestrial networks. Both auction and administrative assignment methods should remain open for stakeholders input, with due consideration given to competitive fairness.”