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Fight over satellite broadband spectrum rages in India

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Billionaire Ambani at odds with Elon Musk's Starlink

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Reliance asking for consultation to start afresh, letter

shows

(Adds Reliance statement in paragraph 9)

By Aditya Kalra and Aditi Shah

NEW DELHI, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Indian billionaire Mukesh

Ambani's Reliance has privately argued that the telecom

regulator incorrectly concluded that home satellite broadband

spectrum should be allocated and not auctioned, a letter seen by

Reuters shows, intensifying a face-off with Elon Musk's

Starlink.

The methodology of giving out spectrum for satellite

services in India - a market set to grow 36% a year to reach

$1.9 billion by 2030 according to Deloitte - has been a

contentious issue since last year.

Musk's Starlink and global peers like Amazon's Project

Kuiper back an administrative allocation, while Ambani - Asia's

wealthiest man who runs India's Reliance Jio - is arguing for an

auction process.

The current dispute is over an interpretation of Indian law

that some in the industry say paved the way for the allocation

of spectrum last year as Musk wanted.

But Reliance is arguing no provisions are in place for

satellite broadband services for individual or home users,

industry sources said on Sunday.

The telecom regulator, TRAI, is holding a public

consultation, but Reliance in a private Oct. 10 letter seen by

Reuters asked for the process to be started afresh as the

watchdog has "pre-emptively interpreted" that allocation is the

way forward.

"TRAI seems to have concluded, without any basis, that

spectrum assignment should be administrative," Reliance's senior

regulatory affairs official Kapoor Singh Guliani wrote in the

letter to India's telecoms minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD

TRAI has in its consultation paper indicated Indian laws

mandate allocation of spectrum for such services without

conducting any studies, Reliance added in its letter.

Reliance Jio in a statement to Reuters on Sunday confirmed

it had requested changes in TRAI's consultation process to

ensure a level playing field and include discussions on the

"methodology of assignment" of spectrum.

A senior TRAI official said on Sunday that due process is

being followed and Reliance is welcome to share feedback during

the consultation period.

The recommendations of the watchdog will form the basis for

the government's decision on the matter.

Tesla boss Musk is keen to launch Starlink in

India, though a final decision on spectrum allocation remains a

sticking point.

Starlink argues that the administrative allotment of

licences is in line with a global trend. Reliance says an

auction is needed for a level playing field as foreign players

could offer voice and data services and compete with traditional

players, Reuters has reported.

Reliance's Jio is India's No. 1 telecoms player with 480

million users.