Jio Pushes for Auction of Spectrum for Allocation of Airwaves in its Submission to TRAI

5G spectrum auctions are on the horizon as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has already kick-started the process. Now, in new developments, India’s leading telecom operator Reliance Jio has informed TRAI about the gaining popularity of auction of spectrum for broadband-from-space services as Brazil has already completed the process and seemingly Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Thailand are all set to follow the suit. Jio has rather urged TRAI to allocate spectrum for broadband-from-space services only via auctions following the global trend and “discard all demands” of global players who are looking for allocation of airwaves via the administrative process.

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Need for Auction of Spectrum

According to a report from ET Telecom, the telecom has called the administrative process of allocation “a relic of the competition-free past” and has said it is totally contradictory to the competitive situations in the telecom sector pertaining now. Jio has made its counter-submission to further strengthen the ongoing battle with global satellite players such as OneWeb, Starlink, Kuiper and Tata-Telesat over the process of allocating spectrum to operate satellite gateways in India.

For those unaware, satellite gateways are an important infrastructure resource that will allow the offering of broadband-from-space services in the country. Jio wrote in its counter submission to TRAI that administrative allocation of spectrum is not the only way of allocating as being pushed by multiple stakeholders and auctions have become more of a global trend when it comes to allocation of spectrum for satellite services. The submission from Jio has also been backed by telecom consultants, Dua Consulting.