Ambani vs Musk: India To Allot Spectrum For Satellite Broadband; Blow To Reliance Jio?

Shortly after billionaire Mukesh Ambani's auction strategy was criticised by Elon Musk, the Indian government recently announced that it will award spectrum for satellite broadband administratively rather than through an auction creating positive news for Starlink. The government said on October 15 that it will now release spectrum to participants, rather than requesting bids at auction, according to a Reuters tale. Elon Musk, whose SpaceX subsidiary Starlink was eyeing the satellite broadband area in India.

In response to Scindia's declaration that satellite spectrum will not be put up for auction, Musk said on X, "much appreciated! We will do our best to serve the people of India with Starlink". Soon after Musk denounced rival billionaire Ambani's planned auction as "unprecedented," the Indian government said on Tuesday that it will allot spectrum for satellite broadband administratively rather than through an auction.

"We have received a reference from the Telecom Department and we have initiated a consultation process in response to the reference that has been received from DoT, and it covers issues that have been referred to Trai by the DoT...the consultation process is on, we will consider all inputs and views that are received during the consultation process and we will come out with our considered recommendations," Trai Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti said on Tuesday.

Musk's Starlink has significant ambitions to expand its telecommunications business in India. But, given the country's growing need for high-speed internet, satellite-based internet solutions, and better digital connectivity, regulatory frameworks-particularly those from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)-will be major obstacles to India's efforts to grow its satellite internet service.

Reliance, which has dominated India's telecom sector for years, is now concerned that after spending $19 billion in airwave auctions it risks losing broadband customers to Musk, and potentially even data and voice clients later as technology advances, a person with direct knowledge reported to Reuters.

Musk stated last year that Starlink "can be incredibly helpful" in rural Indian villages or other locations lacking high-speed internet, and in 2022, his former head of India claimed that Starlink had 200,000 users by the time it launched. Notably, on October 15, Sunil Mittal of Bharti Airtel, who co-chairs the international satellite organisation Eutelsat, also endorsed the auction process. "Satellite companies who have ambitions to come into urban areas, serving elite retail customers, just need to take the telecom licenses like everybody else... they need to buy the spectrum as telecom companies buy," Mittal said.

"And those satellite companies who have ambitions to come into urban areas, serving retail customers, just need to pay the telecom licences like everyone else. They are bound to the same conditions. They need to buy the spectrum as the telecom companies do, and need to pay the licence as the telecom companies do, and also secure the networks of the telecom companies," Mittal stated.

The richest man in the world, Elon Musk, is engaged in a battle to transform India's telecom industry with billionaires Ambani and Mittal of India over the distribution of spectrum used for satellite-based wireless communication. When Starlink enters the Indian market, the tariff plans will compete with it. While a Reliance Jio fibre-based, high-speed broadband package in India costs $10 per month, Musk priced Starlink at $10 per month in Kenya, compared to $120 in the US. As a result, let's see how India's push for satellite internet will help initiatives like Digital India before an actual battle breaks out.