Starlink lobbied in India not to make an auction spectrum, but only assigned licenses in accordance with the global trend and said it was a natural resource that should share companies. | Photo Credit: Reuters
The Group representing the Indian telecommunications giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel said their businesses suffered if the Indian satellite spectrum prices for “unfortunate” rates, of which they benefit satellite internet services such as Elon Musk’s Starlink.
In May, the Indian telecommunications regulatory body proposed that satellite service providers pay 4% of their annual income for offering services to the government. Starlink lobbied in India not to make an auction spectrum, but only assigned licenses in accordance with the global trend and said it was a natural resource that should share companies.
The Indian Association of Cell operators in letter 29. May asked the Ministry of Telecommunications to review these price proposals, with traditional players pay higher fees for auction for telecommunications spectrum that make their payments to the government for spectrum for about 21% higher.
“The price for MHz should be equivalent to both equivalent or at least comparable, especially if it is used to address the same consumers for identical services,” said Reuters.
“Satellite services can offer competing and available alternatives to a land -band connection,” he added.
Reliance, led by the richest man Asia Ambani, and Airtel did not respond to the request of Reuters to comment. Starlink was not immediately available for comment.
The source of the Indian government for the head of the government told Reuters on Wednesday (June 4, 2025) that the Ministry of Telecommunications was still reviewing the valuation recommendations by the regulator and added that such concerns in the industry have been raised in the past.
Telecom players such as Reliance Jio are afraid that they offer similar wireless broadband services as satellite providers, but much more, they said an industrial source with direct knowledge of the situation.
Reliance and others have spent nearly $ 20 billion in recent years to obtain a 5G spectrum through auctions offering telecommunications, data and broadband services.
Mr. Ambani’s company unsuccessfully lobbied at the new Delhi Moon to give the auction satellite spectrum and not correctly assign as Starlink Musk wanted.
Although Reliance and Airtel signed distribution offers for Starlink’s equipment in March, they will continue to compete with Mr. Musk’s offers to customers as soon as they are launched.
The Starlinku License process is “almost complete”, the Minister of Telecommunications Jyotiradity Scindia on Tuesday (June 3, 2025) said on the press website.
Published – 4 June 2025 17:12
