Reliance Jio has urged communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia to direct the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to issue a fresh consultation on the satellite spectrum allocation, considering the option of the auction also as part of the discussions.
The telecom operator has also demanded an evaluation of the technical and economic feasibility of spectrum auctions for satellite services owing to the convergence between satellite and telecom services.
The issue pertains to the fact that the Telecom Act has paved the way for administrative allocation (without auction) of spectrum for certain services including satellite communication. Basis the Act and the reference by the department of telecommunications (DoT) on satellite spectrum pricing and other terms and conditions, Trai issued a consultation paper in September.
Jio, however, said the Trai paper should have also included the option of auctioning of spectrum as well for discussion to ensure a level-playing field between satellite and telecom services.
“It seems Trai has preemptively closed the matter without soliciting the views of stakeholders. By failing to ask pertinent questions on the issue, stakeholders are deprived of the opportunity to voice their opinions,” Jio said in a letter dated October 10 to Scindia.
Jio has also urged the minister to conduct a fair and open consultation on the methodology of the assignment of spectrum, keeping in view the legislative intent as per the Telecom Act.
According to Jio, even as the First Schedule of the Act allows administrative allocation of spectrum for certain services, DoT and Trai must evaluate the spectrum allocation based on the criteria of public interest, government function, and technical and economic reasons, as per the Act.
“It would be legally inappropriate to base spectrum assignment decisions solely on the basis of an entry in First Schedule without considering the broader legislative intent,” Jio said.
The company has backed its argument of auctioning the satellite spectrum by stating that the advancements in satellite technologies such as direct-to-device, and non-geostationary satellite orbit (NGSO) systems, have blurred the lines between satellite and terrestrial networks.
Jio said satellite-based services are no longer confined to areas unserved by telecom networks and therefore are directly competing.
On October 7, the telecom operator also wrote to Trai chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti seeking a revision in the consultation paper. However, Trai did not accept the company’s demand on the basis of the Telecom Act, which has called for administrative allocation of the satellite spectrum, officials said.
Lately, the Broadband India Forum (BIF), which represents major technology companies, on Tuesday countered Reliance Jio’s reiteration on auctioning of satellite spectrum and called it a ‘false narrative’.
According to BIF, the reading of the law, particularly Section 4 of the Telecommunications Act is being deliberately misinterpreted by a couple of stakeholders to demand auctioning of satellite spectrum and ultimately serve their commercial interests.
DoT last week said that satcom players such as OneWeb and Jio will be allowed to use the satellite spectrum provisionally on a trial basis for a period of six months. The spectrum can not be deployed for providing commercial services by the operators. In a notification, DoT said the purpose of the provisional assignment of spectrum is to check compliances related to security and technical conditions by the licence holders.
As per the next steps, the satcom companies will have to submit their applications to DoT to get the provisional spectrum with a one-time non-refundable fee of Rs 110,000.
