In a letter to the DoT, Jio urged that the companies should be repaid the amount paid for spectrum purchases through an auction if FWA for satellite communication players is allowed. The DoT is in the process of finalizing guidelines regulating the administrative allotment of spectrum, especially for satellite communication, including GMPCS holders. The granting of the satellite communication licenses through an administrative method is the choice made under the new Telecommunication Bill, 2023.
Reliance Jio allegedly wrote to the telecom department, claiming that the administratively issued satellite spectrum should not be utilized to provide commercial services such as fixed wireless access (FWA), as this is a 5G use case that should only be given through auctioned spectrum.
Jio requested in a letter to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that companies be refunded for the amount paid for spectrum purchase through an auction if FWA for satellite communication players is approved, according to ET, citing officials familiar with the subject.
For the uninitiated, FWA technology provides fixed broadband connection over radio frequencies. Jio is one of several big brands competing for a license in India’s satellite broadband market. “The spectrum allocation to any entity for providing commercial services should be done only through auction,” Jio informed DoT, according to the report.
The rules governing the administrative distribution of spectrum, specifically for satellite communication—which includes global mobile personal communication via satellite service providers (GMPCS)—are now being finalized by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
The DoT may include restrictions prohibiting satellite communication providers from directly offering services to retail clients, according to the article. However, the department may allow satellite communication services to be offered via fixed terminals. Nonetheless, it is unclear if FWA will be permissible under current restrictions.
It is important to remember that the recently passed Telecommunication Bill, 2023, chooses to award satellite communication licenses through an administrative process. This was viewed as a huge victory for companies such as Bharti Airtel-backed OneWeb, Elon Musk’s Starlink, and Amazon’s Kuiper.
Jio has been advocating for an auction to allocate spectrum for satellite broadband services for some time. Last year, in response to a consultation document issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Jio advocated for auction-based allocation, while OneWeb, Starlink, and Kupier advocated for administrative assignment of the spectrum for satellite communication services.
