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Musk fights Ambani over India satellite spectrum

assignment

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Musk says any India move to auction spectrum

"unprecedented"

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His reaction comes after new Ambani lobbying effort

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Ambani has been lobbying Indian govt for auction route

NEW DELHI, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Starlink boss Elon Musk

said a move by India to auction satellite broadband spectrum,

and not allocate it, would be "unprecedented", reacting to a

Reuters story that rival billionaire Mukesh Ambani was lobbying

for the auction route.

In what is seen as a battle between the two billionaires,

Starlink argues administrative allotment of licences is in line

with a global trend, while Ambani's Reliance says an auction is

needed for a level playing field as foreign players could offer

voice and data services and compete with traditional telecom

players.

On Sunday, Reuters reported Ambani's Reliance has argued

India's telecom regulator has incorrectly concluded that home

satellite broadband spectrum should be allocated and not

auctioned, without seeking industry feedback, and the

consultation process must start afresh.

Reacting to the news, Musk wrote on X that any such decision

to auction as Reliance is lobbying for "would be unprecedented."

"This spectrum was long designated by the ITU as shared

spectrum for satellites," he wrote late on Monday on X,

referring to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a

specialized UN agency for digital technology.

India is a member of the ITU and signatory to its treaty

that regulates satellite spectrum and advocates that allocation

must be done "rationally, efficiently and economically" as it's

a "limited natural resource."

Reliance did not respond to a request for comment on

Tuesday. It has previously told Reuters it is "imperative" upon

the Indian regulator to consult on the methodology of spectrum

assignment.

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 - has been a contentious issue since last

year.

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

Kuiper back an administrative allocation, saying it is a natural

resource that should be shared by companies. Ambani, Asia's

wealthiest man, is arguing for an auction process.

Reliance's latest lobbying move in India has intensified a

face-off with Musk who wants to launch Starlink services in

India but has voted for the spectrum allocation route, in which

the government simply assigns spectrum to the companies.

An Indian government source told Reuters on Sunday the

regulator was following due process of consultation.