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In a boost to Elon Musk's <keyword id="20034452" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="starlink" source="keywords">Starlink</keyword>, Communications Minister Scindia has said the spectrum for satellite broadband will be allocated and not auctioned as sought by Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal. The satellite broadband spectrum will however be not given free and sector regulator Trai will fix a price for the resource, he told PTI in a text and video interview. "Every country has to follow the <keyword id="20848482" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-telecommunications-union" source="keywords">International Telecommunications Union</keyword> (ITU), which is the organisation that lays out the policy for spectrum in space or satellites, and the ITU has been very clear in terms of the spectrum being given out on an assignment basis. In addition, if you look across the world today, I cannot think of a single country that auctions spectrum for satellite," Scindia said. India is a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN agency for digital technology. Musk's Starlink and global peers like Amazon's Project Kuiper back an administrative allocation. While Ambani's Reliance Jio has been vocal about the need to allocate such spectrum through an auction to provide a level playing field to legacy operators who buy airwaves and set up infrastructure like telecom towers, Mittal last month at an industry event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present articulated the need to use bidding for such allocation. Jio and Mittal's Bharti Airtel - India's largest and second-largest operators, respectively - feel that giving away the satellite broadband airwaves at a pre-decided price by the government will create an uneven playing field since they had to compete in an auction to get spectrum for their terrestrial wireless phone networks. The two are vying for a piece of the satellite broadband segment as well. Musk-led Starlink is demanding administrative allotment of licences in line with the global trend as it looks to tap into the world's fastest-growing mobile telephony and internet market. Scindia said the Telecom Act of 2023 passed in December has put the matter in 'Schedule 1', which means that the Satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively. Such an allocation will be at a government-decided price, and allow foreign firms like Starlink to offer voice and data services. If the spectrum were to be auctioned, it would have made it costlier for Starlink to roll out services. Starlink has applied for a licence to start operations in the country. Scindia, however, offered no clues on the fate of his application. The minister said that the regulatory process is very clear and transparent. The new Telecom Act has been passed, and the Satellite spectrum is very clearly a part of that in schedule one, he pointed out. "...and therefore, we are open to looking at the application of any entity that wants to invest in India at this point in time. I think only one or two licenses have been given out. And whoever else wants to participate, India is surely going to welcome that," the minister said. Last month, Musk, in a post on X, termed the demand made by Jio for shunning sector regulator Trai's consultation paper on satellite broadband being allocated and not auctioned as "unprecedented", and when Mittal made the pitch in the presence of the Prime Minister, he asked if it was "too much trouble" to allow Starlink to provide internet services in India. This was perhaps the first time that Musk, whose networth of USD 241 billion is more than the combined wealth of Ambani, Mittal and Gautam Adani, had spoken directly against demands for a level playing field made by the Indian firms. Musk, the mind behind PayPal, founder of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X (formerly Twitter), uses his social media platform on a daily basis to make his views known on a vast array of topics.

In a win for Elon Musk, Scindia says no to spectrum auction pitch from Ambani, Mittal

<keyword id="21282723" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="satellite-communications" source="keywords">Satellite communications</keyword> is a "magic bullet" to cover dark unconnected areas, <keyword id="22764352" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Chairman" source="keywords">Bharti Chairman</keyword> <keyword id="20104229" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sunil-Mittal" source="keywords">Sunil Mittal</keyword> said on Monday, adding that players now have a great new opportunity to leverage satellite connectivity to cover <keyword id="20534956" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="remote-areas" source="keywords">remote areas</keyword> that have so far been left out. Speaking at the <keyword id="23624328" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="NDTV-World-Summit" source="keywords">NDTV World Summit</keyword>, Mittal said that nearly two billion people in the world are still not connected to the internet, and in the Indian context too there are areas -- large swathes of desert, forests, coastlines -- where neither mobile networks, not fibre is feasible. "For those areas you need satellite communications, and that, to my mind, offers now a great source of new opportunities for us, mobile operators, or <keyword id="20055601" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="telecom-operators" source="keywords">telecom operators</keyword>, to put that in a mix and start to cover areas which are still left behind," Mittal said. About five per cent of India's population sans <keyword id="19936241" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="internet-connectivity" source="keywords">internet connectivity</keyword> lives in 25 per cent of the area, he said, emphasising that satellite is the only solution for them. "India provides a very high quality signal to 95 per cent of its population, but there are still five per cent of people who do not get internet in the country, and they live in 25 per cent of the area of the country. So it's a very large area with a very small population, the only way to cover that is satellite," Mittal said. Mittal said that two ground stations in Mehsana (Gujarat) and in Pondicherry are in a state of preparedness and ready to start services. "The day government gives us the permission, there will not be a single square inch of this country which will not have a radio coverage. So you just need to raise your hand and be connected," he said. Mittal said he is of the view that satellite is truly a "magic bullet" to cover the dark areas, and noted that about 2 billion people in the world are still not connected to internet, including in advanced countries like the US. The telecom stalwart's comments assume significance as billionaire Elon Musk and Indian tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Mittal are locked in a standoff over satellite spectrum, and nuances of its allocation in India. While Ambani's <keyword id="19896911" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Reliance Jio" meta.hostid="268" meta.entityid="Reliance Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> has been vocal about the need to allocate such spectrum through an auction to give a level-playing field to legacy operators who buy airwaves and set up infrastructure like telecom towers, Mittal during India Mobile Congress held last week articulated the need for satellite companies harbouring any urban ambitions to buy spectrum as telecom companies do. Musk-led <keyword id="20034452" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Starlink" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Starlink" meta.hostid="268" meta.entityid="Starlink">Starlink</keyword> is demanding administrative allotment of licences in line with the global trend as it looks to tap into the world's fastest-growing mobile telephony and internet market. This has found some backing in Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, who said recently that such airwaves will be given out through administrative allocation at a cost, but not auctioned.

Satellite 'magic bullet' to connect the unconnected; offers opportunity to cover areas left out: Sunil Mittal

The impact of mobile phone service tariff hike was evident in July with <keyword id="19896911" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Reliance Jio" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Reliance Jio">Reliance Jio</keyword>, Bharti <keyword id="19896909" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel" source="keywords">Airtel</keyword>, <keyword id="19899016" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vodafone-Idea" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Vodafone Idea" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Vodafone Idea">Vodafone Idea</keyword> reporting loss of customer base, which resulted in an overall decline in <keyword id="20781077" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="telecom-subscribers" source="keywords">telecom subscribers</keyword> in the country. Reliance <keyword id="19906886" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jio" source="keywords">Jio</keyword>, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea increased their mobile service plan rates in the range of 10-27 % in the first week of July. Airtel and Vodafone Idea have more than doubled their entry-level mobile rates in the last 2-3 years to Rs 199 that comes with 28 days validity. State-run <keyword id="19970536" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BSNL" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="BSNL" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="BSNL">BSNL</keyword> was the only player that added new subscribers and led the market in terms of new net customer addition, according to a monthly subscribers report released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Friday. According to the report, BSNL added over 2.94 million mobile subscribers in July. Bharti Airtel lost 1.69 million mobile subscribers which was highest among its peers. Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio lost 1.41 million and 758,000 mobile subscribers, respectively. Overall, the telecom subscriber base in the country declined marginally to 1,205.17 million in July from 1,205.64 million in June. North East, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Mumbai, Kolkata, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Bihar, West Bengal, UP East, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh telecom circles recorded decline in mobile customer base post the hike in mobile services rates. The wireline or the fixed line connections segment increased by about 1% to 35.56 million in July from 35.11 million in June. Reliance Jio led the fixed-line segment with addition of over 480,000 new subscribers. It was followed by Bharti Airtel which added over 136,000 new subscribers, VMIPL 12,413, Vi 11,375, Tata Teleservices 3,971 and Quadrant added 12 new fixed line customers. BSNL was the biggest loser in the segment. The state-run firm lost 134,000 fixed line customers and its sister concern lost 56,454 customers. The broadband customer base in the country increased to 946.19 million at the end of July from 940.75 million in June. Top five players accounted for 98.42% of total broadband connection in the country. Reliance Jio led the chart with 488.63 million <keyword id="23252277" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="broadband-customers" source="keywords">broadband customers</keyword>, Airtel with 284.03 million, Vodafone Idea with 126.72 million, BSNL with 29.61 million and Atria Convergence with 2.26 million. Bharti Airtel led the machine-to-machine cellular mobile connections with 28.46 million subscribers accounting for 53.02 % market share.It was followed by <keyword id="21892784" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="vodafone-idea-limited" source="keywords">Vodafone Idea Limited</keyword>, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited and BSNL with market share of 27.71 %, 13.68 % and 5.58 % share respectively.

Jio, Airtel, Vi record customer loss post tariff hike, BSNL becomes only gainer in July

<keyword id="19896380" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Industries" source="keywords">Reliance Industries</keyword>' 2024 annual report revealed that <keyword id="20671686" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="JioBharat" source="keywords">JioBharat</keyword>, an affordable keypad smartphone, has achieved an impressive 50 per cent <keyword id="20038792" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="market-share" source="keywords">market share</keyword> in the <keyword id="3342432" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sub-rs-1" source="Orion">sub-Rs 1</keyword>,000 segment. Launched with the mission to empower every Indian with digital services, JioBharat has marked a significant step towards digital freedom for the 250 million feature phone users in India, bridging the digital divide like never before. Since its launch a year ago, JioBharat has been transforming lives by offering features and digital capabilities such as UPI, JioCinema, and JioTV, enabling various segments of society to achieve more. This affordable device not only empowers users with smartphone capabilities but also provides high-quality and affordable data, making it accessible to the common people. Despite the recent industry-wide tariff increases, <keyword id="2003276" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio" source="Orion">Jio</keyword> has maintained consistent pricing for JioBharat, allowing users to enjoy full digital capabilities at just Rs 123 per month. In contrast, the most affordable plans from other operators start at Rs 199 per month and enables access to limited functionality, restricted to voice and SMS services, as their feature phones do not support data or LTE usage. In his letter to shareholders, <keyword id="19916798" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani" source="keywords">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>, Chairman of Reliance Industries Ltd, stated, "The launch of the JioBharat phone is another revolutionary step towards bridging the country's digital divide. A smartphone at the price of a feature phone, the JioBharat phone will go a long way in realizing a 2G-mukt Bharat." In 2016, when Jio was launched, it left no stone unturned to democratise internet access and pass the benefits of technology to every Indian. With affordable high-speed data and a ubiquitous network, technology was no longer a privilege for a select few. The subsequent launch of affordable devices like <keyword id="22711694" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jiophone" source="keywords">JioPhone</keyword> and the availability of affordable wired broadband (<keyword id="20282548" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="jiofiber" source="keywords">JioFiber</keyword>) has truly democratised data connectivity. "With the launch of Jio 4G in 2016, we set out on a journey to make digital inclusion in India a reality. Jio turned a Data Dark India into a Data Rich nation, supplying every Indian home with affordable, high-speed 4G data. And this year, Jio has further enhanced the country's digital infrastructure by rolling out its True5G network across India in world-record time," states Mukesh Ambani's letter to shareholders in the latest annual report released on Thursday.

JioBharat captures 50% market share in sub-Rs 1,000 segment: Reliance annual report

<keyword id="20509941" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="spectrum-auction" source="keywords">Spectrum auction</keyword> for <keyword id="22185968" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mobile-radiowaves-services" source="keywords">mobile radiowaves services</keyword> worth Rs 96,000 crore ended with <keyword id="20055672" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bids" source="keywords">bids</keyword> worth about Rs 11,000 crore, according to sources. The <keyword id="19900449" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="government" source="keywords">government</keyword> has put over 10,500 Mhz spectrum in eight <keyword id="21197262" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="frequency-bands" source="keywords">frequency bands</keyword> -- 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1,800 MHz, 2,100 MHz, 2,300 MHz, 2,500 MHz, 3,300 MHz and 26 GHz, valued at Rs 96,238 crore at base price, for auction. "There were no fresh bids in the morning session. The auction has ended with bids worth about Rs 11,000 crore," the source said, adding that <keyword id="19951944" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Bharti Airtel" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Bharti Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword> has emerged as the biggest bidder in the auction. During the last auction in 2022, which turned out to be a seven-day affair, a record over Rs 1.5 lakh crore worth of 5G telecom spectrum was sold, with billionaire <keyword id="19916798" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani" source="keywords">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>'s <keyword id="19906886" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Jio" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Jio">Jio</keyword> emerging as the top bidder, cornering nearly half of all the airwaves (worth Rs 88,078 crore). At that time, telecom tycoon Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel made a successful bid of Rs 43,084 crore, while Vodafone Idea bought Spectrum for Rs 18,799 crore. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/stanley-lifestyles-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/111261779.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/stanley-lifestyles-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-ipo-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/111261779.cms" target="_blank">Stanley Lifestyles IPO allotment – How to check allotment, IPO GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/oneplus-nord-ce-4-lite-vs-poco-x6-which-phone-should-you-buy-under-25000/slidelist/111257892.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/webstories/oneplus-nord-ce-4-lite-vs-poco-x6-which-phone-should-you-buy-under-25000/slidelist/111257892.cms" target="_blank">OnePlus Nord CE 4 Lite vs Poco X6 – which phone should you buy under ₹25,000?</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ipos-this-week-allied-blenders-and-vraj-iron-and-steel-look-to-raise-1671-crore/articleshow/111233159.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/ipos-this-week-allied-blenders-and-vraj-iron-and-steel-look-to-raise-1671-crore/articleshow/111233159.cms" target="_blank">IPOs this week – Allied Blenders and Vraj Iron and Steel look to raise ₹1,671 crore</a>

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In a win for Elon Musk, Scindia says no to spectrum auction pitch from Ambani, Mittal

PTI

Satellite 'magic bullet' to connect the unconnected; offers opportunity to cover areas left out: Sunil Mittal

PTI

Jio, Airtel, Vi record customer loss post tariff hike, BSNL becomes only gainer in July

PTI

JioBharat captures 50% market share in sub-Rs 1,000 segment: Reliance annual report

ANI

Spectrum auction ends with bids worth ₹11,000 crore, Bharti Airtel emerges as the biggest bidder

PTI

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