Telecoms Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia confirmed earlier this week that spectrum for satellite broadband would be distributed administratively and not through an auction — with Musk decrying any attempts to switch to an action as “unprecedented.”
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Reliance Jio was reportedly looking to challenge the allocation, contending the allocation should be auctioned instead of allocated to avoid increasing competition from foreign players like Starlink.
Elon Musk argued that the way the Indian government plans to distribute satellite spectrum licenses aligns with global trends.
He stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that these licenses have been designated by the International Telecommunication Union to be “shared.”
🧐 That would be unprecedented, as this spectrum was long designated by the ITU as shared spectrum for satellites.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 14, 2024
Musk then escalated the argument by suggesting he would call Ambani to ask “if it would not be too much trouble to allow Starlink to compete to provide internet services to the people of India.”
Aside from Ambani’s Jio, Eutelsat, which partnered with Bharti Airtel, also backed the demand for an auction option.
Sunil Mittal, co-chair of the global satellite group at Eutelsat said earlier this that operators “need to buy the spectrum as telecom companies buy.”
However, Minister Scindia said at an event in Dehli earlier this week that if India were to auction satellite spectrum then it would be “doing something which is different from the rest of the world.”
“Much appreciated,” Musk said in response to the news that the Indian government was opting against an auction for spectrum. “We will do our best to serve the people of India with Starlink.”
Much appreciated! We will do our best to serve the people of India with Starlink.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2024
Targeting one of the most populous countries in the world, India is the second largest online market, behind China, with Musk aiming to bring Starlink to the country.
Starlink owner Musk has been looking to expand the satellite connectivity firm’s presence globally in recent months, including in the country of his birth, South Africa.
Away from India, Musk’s Starlink hit bumps in its attempts to bring its satellite services to Italy earlier this year, with local operator TIM accused by Starlink parent SpaceX of preventing the deployment of new gateway equipment.
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