Reliance Jio seeks level field in satellite spectrum, urges Trai to develop revised paper

Reliance Jio has urged Trai to develop a revised paper on spectrum allocation for satellite communication alleging that it ignores the key point of ensuring a level-playing field between satellite and terrestrial services.

In a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman, Anil Kumar Lahoti, Reliance Jio has sought revision of the consultation paper on recommending rules for “terms and conditions for the assignment of spectrum for certain satellite-based commercial communication services”.

“We are surprised that the consultation paper has completely overlooked the critical issue of ensuring a level-playing field between satellite-based and terrestrial access services. This omission has resulted in the lack of questions addressing the need to create a level-playing field between these services,” Reliance Jio said in a letter dated October 4.

Jio said due to the omission of this point, stakeholders will not be able to adequately consider and provide relevant inputs to Trai, undermining the fairness of recommendations and the government’s intent to promote balanced competition.

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 such as Elon Musk-owned Starlink, Bharti-backed OneWeb, and Jio Satellite Communications.