BIF Opposes Jio's Demand for Satcom Spectrum Consultation Paper Revision

New Delhi, Oct 8 (PTI) Industry body Broadband India Forum on Tuesday opposed Reliance Jio's demand for revising the consultation paper on Satcom spectrum rules.

Reliance Jio has urged telecom regulator Trai to come up with a revised paper on spectrum allocation for satellite communication, alleging that it ignores the key points of ensuring a level-playing field between satellite and terrestrial services.

Without naming Reliance Jio, Broadband India Forum (BIF) said the argument for a 'level playing field' between satellite-based and terrestrial communication services is fundamentally flawed, demonstrating a profound misunderstanding of the technologies and the law.

"In a desperate attempt to confuse all, stakeholders' have questioned the regulator's preference or 'tilting of preference' on the administrative allocation of satellite spectrum, advocating for auctioning such airwaves.

"This seems to be a direct defiance of the Telecommunications Act passed by the highest legislative authority of the country Parliament and a reprehensible attempt to undermine the country's extant policy framework," BIF said.

An email query sent to Reliance Jio elicited no immediate reply.

BIF members include satcom players like OneWeb, Viasat, telecom network gear makers etc.

The industry body said the Telecommunications Act 2023 explicitly stipulates that the method of spectrum assignment of various commercial and others listed in the First Schedule, including Commercial Satcom Services, must be done through an administrative process.

On September 27, 2024, Trai floated a consultation process to explore methodology and price for assigning spectrum to satellite companies to provide calling, messaging, broadband and other services in the country.

The decision on spectrum price and allocation methodology will pave the way for satellite-based broadband services from companies like Elon Musk-owned Starlink, Bharti Group-backed OneWeb, and Jio Satellite Communications, across India.

Jio said the consultation paper does not adequately address competitive fairness and is not aligned with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) reference dated July 11, 2024, which makes the consultation paper and consequent recommendations vulnerable to legal challenges.

Jio and Vodafone Idea have opposed the allocation of spectrum to satellite companies without auction.

It also alleged that the paper is tilted towards administrative spectrum assignment, which undermines norms of the Telecommunications Act 2023.

The telecom firm said the Telecommunication Act 2023, emphasises auction as the default method for assigning spectrum for commercial services.