Government opts against spectrum auction after Elon Musk objects to Ambani lobbying

Elon Musk wants his Starlink to beam down wireless internet in India from satellites orbiting the earth, but the licensing regime his group favours has put him at odds with Mukesh Ambani's Reliance. But Starlink wants India to just assign a license for the service and not insist on auctioning the signal-carrying spectrum or airwaves. This stand finds Musk on the side of Tatas, Sunil Bharti Mittal's firm, and Amazon, who too prefer the same route.

Broadband India Forum (BIF) had sought Rohatgis views on whether the law requires that the only way to allocate satellite spectrum is auction. He replied, “No.” BIF also asked whether allocation of satellite spectrum for space-based communication services through a non-auction, administrative route, be permissible in law. Rohatgi said, “Yes.” ET has seen a copy of the 18-page legal opinion.

The proposal was included in a new draft bill for the telecommunications sector, which seeks to replace the 138-year old Indian Telegraph Act that currently governs the sector. The bill was tabled for approval in parliament on Monday. While Starlink and its global peers like Amazon's Project Kuiper, and the British government-backed OneWeb would rejoice in the move, it is a setback to Mukesh Ambani, Asia's wealthiest, who runs Indian telecom giant Reliance Jio.

(Reuters) -Reliance Jio said on Monday it would launch a 4G feature phone priced at 999 rupees ($12.19), the latest attempt by billionaire Mukesh Ambani's telecom arm to grab market share in India's

Airtel and Jio stand sharply divided on various issues related to satcom and have battled each other over complexities that surround satcom. The rivalry between the two biggies, with other satcom players also divided sharply, continues. A few days ago, they locked horns over the usage and price of satcom.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) on Monday held its 46th Annual General Meeting (AGM) for its shareholders. This AGM comes just weeks after the listing of Jio Financial Services on India's stock exchanges. The company's chairman and managing director, Mukesh Ambani, made several important announcements to drive growth. Here are the key highlights from the announcements made by Reliance Industries.

This method of spectrum allocation, bypassing auctions, is expected to accelerate the launch of their services.

Telecom operators Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea are backing DoT, while Bharti Enterprise-backed satcom firm OneWeb has joined the rest of the industry to demand administrative allocation of satellite spectrum. Satellite spectrum has no territorial limits, is a shared resource, and is international in character with International Telecommunication Union (ITU) managing and coordinating its usage, and hence it can't be auctioned, industry body Indian Space Association (ISpA) said on Wednesday.

Mukesh Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), recently announced Jio Platforms' ambitious plans to use the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and make it accessible to everyone in India. In a rapidly evolving global landscape, Ambani emphasized the need for India to lead the way in AI innovation to remain competitive. Here is the story in 5 points.

In signs of deepening rivalry, an industry source with direct knowledge said Reliance will continue nudging the Indian government to auction satellite spectrum, and not agree to the demands of foreign companies.