Jio and Bharti’s advocacy of satellite spectrum auction makes little sense

The more things change, the more they remain the same. Just when one thought that the legacy issues dividing the telecom industry over policy and regulatory concerns were a thing of the past, squabbling over satellite spectrum allocation started. Way back in 2006, Ratan Tata was the first to demand auctioning of spectrum for mobile services. He faced strong opposition from Bharti Airtel’s Sunil Mittal who said if Tata had so much money, he should think of donating it to the Prime Minister’s relief fund. Tata’s advocacy for auction was not out of love for maximising government revenues.