'We will do our best to serve the people of India…': Elon Musk after telecom minister Jyotiradtiya Scindia confirms no satcomm spectrum auction

Starlink CEO and X (previously Twitter) owner Elon Musk posted that Starlink ‘will do our best to serve the people of India’. Musk was responding to the announcement made by union telecom minister Jyotiradtiya Scindia that satcomm spectrum will be allocated administratively and not auctioned. “BREAKING: India’s government said it will allot spectrum for satellite broadband administratively and not via auction, hours after Elon Musk criticized the auction route being sought by billionaire Mukesh Ambani . Good News for Starlink,” X user DogeDesinger wrote in a post.

Replying to the post, Musk wrote “Much appreciated! We will do our best to serve the people of India with Starlink.”

Much appreciated! We will do our best to serve the people of India with Starlink.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 15, 2024

Jio and Airtel wanted spectrum auctionEarlier this week, both Jio and Airtel called for a revised approach to spectrum allocation for satellite communication companies in India. In a letter to the telecom minister, Jio emphasised that satellite companies should acquire spectrum through a transparent auction process, similar to traditional telecom players. Speaking at IMC 2024, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal favoured bidding for such allocation.

Musk then termed their demand as ‘unprecedented’.

Telecom Minister clarifies
Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday that such airwaves will be given out through administrative allocation and not auctioned. "Satellite spectrum across the world is allocated administratively. So, India is not doing anything different from the rest of the world. Conversely, if you do decide to auction it then you would be doing something, which is different from the rest of the world," the minister said.

"That does not mean that spectrum does not come without a cost. What that cost is and what the formula of that cost is going to be, will not be decided by you or me ...it will be decided by Trai...and there is a paper that has already been circulated by Trai, and we have a regulatory authority for telecom, and that regulatory authority of telecom has been empowered by the constitution to decide what that administrative pricing is going to be," he said.