Jio seeks revised paper on satellite spectrum allocation as it ignores level-playing field

Reliance Jio has urged telecom regulator Trai to come up with a revised paper on spectrum allocation for satellite communication alleging that it ignores the key point of ensuring a level-playing field between satellite and terrestrial services.

In a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) Chairman, Anil Kumar Lahoti, Reliance Jio has sought revision of the consultation paper on recommending rules for "terms and conditions for the assignment of spectrum for certain satellite-based commercial communication services".

"We are surprised that the consultation paper 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," Reliance Jio (RJIL) said in a letter dated October 4.

Jio said that due to the omission of this point, stakeholders will not be able to adequately consider and provide relevant inputs to Trai which will undermine the fairness of recommendations and the government's intent to promote balanced competition.

On September 27, 2024, Trai floated a consultation process to explore methodology and price for assigning spectrum to satellite companies to provide calling, messaging, broadband and other services in the country. The decision on spectrum price and allocation methodology will pave the way for satellite-based broadband services from companies like Elon Musk-owned Starlink, Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, and Jio Satellite Communications, across India.

Jio said the consultation paper does not adequately address competitive fairness and is not aligned with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) reference dated July 11, 2024, which makes the consultation paper and the consequent recommendations vulnerable to legal challenges.

Jio and Vodafone Idea have opposed the allocation of spectrum to satellite companies without auction.

Jio alleged that the paper is tilted towards administrative spectrum assignment which undermines norms of The Telecommunications Act, 2023. It said that the Telecommunication Act, 2023 emphasises auction as the default method for assigning spectrum for commercial services.

"We respectfully urge 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," Jio said.

Trai has invited comments on 21 points, including a method for determining spectrum charges, frequency bands for the satellite communications services, duration of assignment, and provision for surrendering spectrum, etc. The regulator has fixed October 18 for comments and October 25 for counter comments on the paper.