Elon Musk’s Starlink has scored a significant victory in India’s satellite spectrum allocation battle, raising the prospect of a price war with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio. The conflict centres around how India allocates satellite spectrum for broadband services. While Musk’s Starlink, along with other global players like Amazon’s Project Kuiper, supports an administrative allocation method, Ambani has been pushing for the spectrum to be auctioned, arguing that an auction would create a level playing field for Indian and foreign companies.
India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) decided in favor of allocating the spectrum, which has sparked concerns from Reliance that international companies could potentially outcompete domestic players by offering satellite-based voice and data services, putting traditional telecom operators at a disadvantage. Ambani has lobbied the Indian government to reconsider the decision, citing the rapid growth of India’s satellite broadband market, projected to reach $1.9 billion by 2030.
This regulatory decision is likely to lead to a price war between Starlink and Reliance Jio as both companies target India’s burgeoning satellite internet market, with the potential for consumers to benefit from more competitive pricing.