'Much appreciated', says Elon Musk after telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia confirms no satcomm spectrum auction

Musk’s comment came in response to a key announcement by Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, confirming that the satellite communication spectrum in India will be allocated administratively rather than through an auction process.

An X (formerly Twitter) user, DogeDesigner, highlighted the news by posting: “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.”

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

Earlier in the week, major telecom players Jio and Airtel had raised concerns, calling for a re-evaluation of the spectrum allocation process for satellite communication in India.

Jio, in a letter to the telecom minister, argued that satellite companies should acquire spectrum via a transparent auction, similar to how traditional telecom companies operate.

Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal, speaking at IMC 2024, also supported the idea of spectrum bidding.

Musk, however, criticized this demand, calling it "unprecedented."

On Tuesday (Aug. 15), Telecom Minister Scindia clarified that satellite spectrum will be allocated administratively, stating, "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."

He further explained that although the spectrum will be administratively allocated, it will not be free of cost.

"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," Scindia added.