The satellite spectrum in India is going to be administratively allocated, which is against the wishes of private telcos including Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi). Because of this, the question of 2G airwaves allocation and the scam related to it comes to mind. Addressing this, union telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the spectrum won't be given on a first-come, first-serve basis to the satellite companies. Instead, the pricing will be decided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
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As per PTI, Scindia mentioned that no country in the world is auctioning the spectrum for satellite companies. The minister said that it is not economically feasible and is also physically impossible. Scindia explained that when the spectrum is auctioned, it belongs to one entity that has won the bid. But in the case of satellite companies, the spectrum is shared, and not owned by just one company. Thus, it won't make sense for companies to bid for it, and then share it with others.
Based on the pricing decided by TRAI, the spectrum will be given to everyone who has acquired a license. Elon Musk hailed the decision of administrative allocation of spectrum by the Indian government for satellite companies. But this is not what the private telecom operators in India want. The telcos believe that it is discriminatory in nature, and are batting for the spectrum to be given only through the auction route.
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Scindia also talked about the 4G rollout from BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited), and said that the state-run telecom operator has installed over 62,000 4G towers already. He said that the telco is in line with the target of completing the 1 lakh 4G tower rollout before June 2025.
