Reliance Jio sends ‘letter of complaint’ to Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia

Reliance Jio reportedly urged the Indian government to hold a transparent auction for satellite spectrum and revise the regulator’s consultation document to ensure a level playing field between satellite and terrestrial networks.
According to a report in Economic Times, in a letter to Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jio highlighted growing interest from global satellite constellations like Starlink, Amazon Kuiper and its own joint venture with SES in India. network-based communications services, in direct competition with terrestrial networks.
Jio argued that since terrestrial networks acquire spectrum through auctions, a similar process should be adopted for satellite services to ensure fair competition. The company has already raised this concern with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), but has not received any favorable response.

What Reliance Jio’s letter to the Telecom Minister says

Jio has sought the minister’s intervention to ensure that TRAI addresses these issues in its consultation paper and adopts spectrum allocation policies that are fair, transparent and competitive. The company criticized the administrative approach proposed by TRAI, based on the “first come, first served” principle, without a clear methodology. “We respectfully request your intervention so that Trai addresses these issues in its consultation paper and ensures that its recommendations on spectrum allocation policies respect the principles of fairness, transparency and competition, as required by the Telecom Act and Supreme Court judgments,” Jio said. said.
“Trai appears to have concluded, without any basis, that spectrum allocation should be administrative and based on ‘first come, first served’ basis,” Jio added in the letter.
The Broadband India Forum (BIF), which represents satellite companies like Oneweb and Hughes, has opposed Jio’s argument for a level playing field, saying it misunderstands the relevant technologies and laws. However, Jio argued that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has emphasized the importance of a level playing field in its reference to TRAI.