Jio's Satellite Unit Favours Auction, Bharti Airtel Joins Satcom Firm’s Opposition

Jio Satellite Communications (JSCL) is the only satellite communication operator to favour the auction for the allocation of the spectrum while other telecom majors including, Bharti Airtel, have expressed their opposition, according to a media report on Friday.

JSCL in its counter-comment submission to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) toed the line of its sister concern Reliance Jio Infocomm to underline the suggestion that auction is the best and legitimate method to allocate radio waves frequencies.

The auction-based assignment is an equal opportunity for all service providers to bring in requisite regulatory certainty and predictability through legal mechanisms, JSCL said.

Meanwhile, Trai’s comments were public on Friday after the deadline ended on 22 June.

The satcom firm notified that it would use frequencies in Ka and Ku spectrum bands and showcased its interest in acquiring the right to use the frequencies in these bands through upcoming auctions.

JSCL underlined that regulatory certainty and predictability protect the investments and are also responsible for additional investments in the sector.

Furthermore, it said, administrative assignment’s 'first come, first serve’ nature and legal untenability due to the Supreme Court judgment in the 2G case is creating uncertainty, unpredictability and anti-new-entrant problems.

Reports mentioned, among telecom operators, Vodafone Idea suggested that the spectrum allocation for space-based communication should be through auction only.

However other telecom players, Airtel, OneWeb, Tata Group's Nelco, Indian Space Association (ISpA), Satcom Industry Association and others, countered the argument of allocating spectrum through auction.