NEW DELHI: Opposing the reported tie-up between Jio, Airtel, and Elon Musk’s Starlink to provide high-speed satellite-based internet services, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) on Thursday said that allowing a US company to acquire highly strategic satellite spectrum would lead to a monopoly, compromising national sovereignty and security.
A statement issued by the politburo of the party said that the recent reports of Jio and Airtel’s tie-up with Starlink in the country raise serious questions regarding spectrum allocation and national security concerns.
“The Supreme Court had held in the 2G case that spectrum is a scarce resource and can be allocated to private players only through open, transparent auctions. Any private deal for allocating spectrum would be a violation of the law of the land. Jio, Airtel, and Starlink coming together to form a cartel to dominate satellite spectrum use will be at the cost of millions of telecom subscribers in India,” read the statement.
The CPM further said that satellite spectrum should be allocated exclusively for strategic uses, such as defense and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) operations.
"This is not only a question of spectrum allocation but also the number of orbital slots a country has.
Allowing such satellites to capture vital orbital slots and use them for mapping our natural resources, gathering commercially valuable data, e.g., weather, crop status, and, of course, strategic military/defense data, would be against our national and security interests.
Particularly as ISRO and other Indian agencies have the ability to do so,” said the politburo.
It also noted that such telecom services are critical for a country’s defense.
“It is now known that the US threats to stop Starlink services to the Ukrainian military forced Zelensky to concede US demands on handing over its natural resources and negotiating with Russia under US aegis. Allowing a US company to acquire highly strategic satellite spectrum and orbital slots and create a space monopoly compromises our national sovereignty and security,” the party said.