NEW DELHI: Satellite industry has urged the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) to administratively allocate spectrum to them and not take the auction route. They said this is in conjunction with the fact that satellite spectrum auction has never happened in India before and globally the administrative allocation route is followed.
“While India is making rapid progress in the digital economy, one needs to keep in mind that satcom plays a pivotal role,” said Anil Prakash, Director General of SIA-India (Satcom Industry Association of India). SIA said that during the three days deliberations at the India Space Congress 2022, the members of the space industry echoed the view for administrative allocation of 28MhZ spectrum and not to take the auction route.
Recently Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said satellite communications can’t be auctioned on the lines of its recent sale for 5G services. He reasoned these airwaves will be used in limited areas and will not be a cash-rich source for generating billions of dollars of revenue.
Its competitor Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea are favouring the auction route for satellite spectrum. Recently, the DoT approved a licence to Jio Satellite Communications, a unit of Reliance Jio, to offer satellite-based communication services in the country.