Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, SpaceX’s Starlink, Tata Group’s Nelco, and Reliance Jio’s satellite unit may need to participate in an auction to acquire spectrum for satellite-based communications.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman PD Vaghela said on Tuesday that the regulator is likely to come out with a model for the auction of satellite spectrum. India will be the first country to handle issues relating to auction of spectrum for satellite communications, but it will be designed in a way that it attracts investments rather than killing them, he said.

The Trai chairman’s statement comes at a time when telecom operators and technology players have adopted differing stands on the matter. While Bharti is not in favour of an auction, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea have been pressing for it. On the contrary, Broadband India Forum (BIF), an association of technology players like Google, Hughes and more, is opposed to an auction. It has said that since satellite spectrum is not exclusive to an operator, auctioning makes no sense.

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“World over, satellite spectrum is authorised for ‘a right-to-use’ by all administrations everywhere and is allocated only by administrative process at charges essentially covering the cost of administration. Unlike terrestrial spectrum, satellite spectrum is never exclusively assigned to the operator, but coordinated internationally and shared among multiple operators for different orbital slots and all types of satellites. Thus, the terrestrial concept of exclusivity does not apply and auctioning is not applicable,” Broadband India Forum (BIF) president, TV Ramachandran told FE.

Bharti Group chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal has also thrown his weight behind BIF on the matter, stating that such spectrum has not been auctioned anywhere in the world as it is required only at select places unlike terrestrial airwaves, which are needed everywhere.

“There is probably lack of understanding … auction what? People are not understanding, this is not terrestrial spectrum being used, this is not being used in all parts of the country, this will only be used in two landing stations,” Mittal had earlier told FE. He had also said that world over there has never been an auction for satellite spectrum. “It’s not new. Spectrum for satellite has been out there for 100 years and all the GEO/ MEO satellites are already using it,” he had said.

Jitender Ahuja, head of product and solutions at Tata Group’s Nelco, said, the spectrum management has to be handled very carefully. “The allocation of satellite spectrum should neither happen in a way that creates monopolies in the sector nor in a way that kills the industry,” he said.

Countries like US, Thailand and Brazil, which had attempted to auction satellite spectrum, have gone back to the route of administration allocation.

Allaying apprehensions about the auction mode, Vaghela said, “It should not kill the sector. That is very important. Any system that we will be bringing is to actually encourage and promote investment in the sector, and not increase any burden. I mean, that is the biggest challenge which we have, and we are conscious of that fact.”

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Trai is yet to come up with a consultation paper on the spectrum auction for satellite communications, but it has received a reference in this regard from the department of telecommunications. Asked about the status of the consultation paper, Vaghela said Trai is in discussions with experts and regulators worldwide for a suitable model and the consultation paper will be floated after those discussions are over.

Satellite communication is extremely useful for providing broadband services in remote, hilly, and inaccessible regions. It is also the only medium through which communication can be established in disaster zones when normal communication is affected. In satellite communications, services are provided through low-earth orbit satellites, through which a box is suspended in remote and hilly regions which creates WiFi spots through which broadband services are provided.