Telecom Minister: RIL And OneWeb Have The Licence, Door Open For Others

Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said it was not possible to auction the much-disputed satellite spectrum due to engineering and scientific reasons. Speaking to news agency ANI, the minister said the Parliament has already given its nod to administrative pricing of the spectrum. Laying out the roadmap for obtaining a licence, Scindia said every party will have to apply for the licence first and then get approval from in-SPACe. It will only be then that spectrum will be given at a price determined by regulator TRAI. While two companies, Reliance and OneWeb (with ties to Airtel) have already been given the licence, the minister said the doors are open for other players as well. According to reports, Elon Musk-owned StarLink, with a massive constellation of nearly 7,000 satellites is also interested in the spectrum. The comments come after Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the current NDA government of going the administrative pricing way to benefit its “cronies”.