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A group representing Indian telecom giants Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel has raised concerns that their businesses can adversely affect if India sets satellite spectrum prices at 'unjustifiably low' rates and potentially favoring satellite internet providers like Elon Musk's Starlink.
In May, India's telecom regulator proposed that satellite service providers pay 4% of their annual revenue to the government for offering services. Starlink has argued against auctioning spectrum, advocating for a licensing model similar to global practices. The company contends that spectrum is a natural resource that should be shared among service providers.
The Cellular Operators Association of India in a May 29 letter to the telecoms ministry sought a review of those pricing proposals, saying traditional players pay higher upfront auction charges for telecoms spectrum which make their payments to the government for spectrum roughly 21% higher, when compared to what satellite players would pay.
'Price per MHz should be equivalent or at least comparable for both, especially when used to reach the same consumers for identical services,' said the letter as reported by Reuters.
'Satellite services can offer competitive and affordable alternatives to terrestrial broadband,' it added.
Reliance and Airtel didn't comment on the matter yet. A senior Indian government source, as cited by Reuters on, said the telecoms ministry is still reviewing the pricing recommendations made by the regulator, adding such industry concerns have been raised in the past.
Telecom players like Reliance Jio are concerned they will be offering similar wireless broadband services as satellite providers but paying much more, said an industry source with direct knowledge of the situation.
Reliance and others have spent nearly $20 billion in recent years to get 5G spectrum via auctions to offer telecom, data and broadband services.
The process of Starlink getting a license is 'nearly complete', telecoms minister Jyotiraditya Scindia told The Print news website on Tuesday.
(With Inputs From Reuters)
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