Telecom leader Sunil Bharti Mittal, head of India’s second-largest telecom company Bharti Airtel, joined hands with his competitor Mukesh Ambani’s Jio, advocating for satellite companies to be subject to the same regulations as traditional telecom firms.
Speaking at the India Mobile Conference, Mittal argued that satellite providers offering telecom services should pay license fees and purchase airwaves, similar to legacy telecom companies, to ensure fair competition.
He emphasized that existing telecom companies are already extending satellite services to remote regions and that satellite providers targeting urban areas should adhere to the same regulatory framework, including spectrum purchases, licensing fees, and network security.
“And those satellite companies who have ambitions to come into urban areas, serving retail customers, just need to pay the telecom licenses like everyone else. They are bound to the same conditions. They need to buy the spectrum as the telecom companies do, and need to pay the license as the telecom companies do, and also secure the networks of the telecom companies,” he said in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mittal, whose company plans to launch satellite internet services in India through OneWeb, noted that OneWeb is prepared to roll out its satellite-based broadband services but is awaiting government approval.
Similarly, Jio has developed its satellite internet technology and is awaiting a government-led spectrum auction to foster competition.
Both companies have acknowledged Elon Musk’s Starlink as a significant competitor, as Starlink aims to enter the Indian market by the end of 2024, pending regulatory approval. Starlink is already operational in several countries.
Last week, Reliance Jio wrote to Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, opposing the telecom regulator TRAI’s recommendation to allocate satellite broadband spectrum rather than auction it. Global players like Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Project Kuiper support the administrative allocation model.
