Top industry body urges satellite spectrum allocation through administrative mechanism to broad base spacetech benefits

The country’s apex space association has called for assigning satellite spectrum through the globally accepted administrative mechanism to broad base spacetech’s societal benefits.

Director general of the Indian Space Association (ISpA), Lt Gen. (Retd) Anil Kumar Bhatt told Business Today that this would help in delivering the benefits of government initiatives such as Digital India through improved online infrastructure to the last mile.

“All ISpA members, telecom associations and industry chambers are of the view that satellite spectrum must be assigned through the administrative mechanism as is done globally. This is because satellite spectrum is a non-exclusive resource,” said Bhatt during a recent interaction with BT.

Unlike terrestrial spectrum, which is exclusive to the operator who gets it through a bidding process, satellite spectrum being a non-exclusive resource gets shared with multiple users working in close coordination with each other.

For instance, several Indian spacetech startups have plans for developing satellite constellations for purposes ranging from hyperspectral imagery to improving extra-terrestrial surveillance for the Indian armed forces to the identification of space debris to ensure a safe passage for space missions in the Lower Earth Orbit (LEO). Subsequent to the allocation, they can work together to offer their services.

Bhatt said that countries such as Brazil and the US which had unsuccessfully tried their hand at selling satellite spectrum through auctions had to eventually revert to the administrative assignment mechanism.

“Even in the US, the Open-market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications (ORBIT) Act of 2000 states that satellite spectrum should not be allocated through competitive bidding but given through the administrative method,” he pointed out.

As against the auction model where firms bid for spectrum above a reserve price set by the state, under the administrative method the same is distributed to qualifying communications firms. The 5G spectrum auctions held last year in India fall under the latter category. While auctions are the preferred model globally for the allocation of the telecommunication spectrum, the model is yet to be effectively implemented for the allocation of space-based spectrum.

ISpA has shared its recommendations in response to a consultation paper released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) after the Department of Telecom (DoT) sought the telecom regulator’s views on the distribution process for satellite spectrum allocation.

Administrative distribution to foster innovation, growth

The most compelling argument in Bhatt’s view is the fact that the Indian spacetech industry was still in its infancy. To ensure its continued growth and enable it to compete with the world’s best it needed a lot of hand-holding.

“If the satellite spectrum is auctioned, startups and new companies won’t be able to compete with the bigger players and that will effectively stifle innovation and growth in the long-term,” he emphasised.

Referring to the Supreme Court order of 2012 holding that telecom spectrum be allowed only through an auction process, he clarified that the judgment only addressed the 2G spectrum sale.

“The presidential reference and the judgment say that it was specific to 2G allocation and, therefore, not applicable to all the other natural resources, including other spectrum allocations,” said Bhatt.

In response to a question on how the perceived loss in revenue to the exchequer would be compensated, Bhatt said that inconspicuous gains achieved through administrative distribution would far outweigh any tangible benefits derived through an auction process.

“Spacetech would help in connecting the unconnected. Despite all the push being given by the government fiberisation is yet to reach the last mile. If that has to be achieved, it will have to be done through satellite spectrum,” averred Bhatt.

Citing a Plum Consulting study on the Asia-Pacific region, he pointed out that the provision of high-speed broadband connectivity via satellite to unserved regions could on average contribute up to $121.5 billion in GDP growth by 2030. In India’s case benefits accruing through such a rollout could be anywhere between 72-184.6 billion dollars.

Following the opening up of the spacetech industry to private sector participation in 2020, the country unveiled the Indian Space Policy, 2023, in April. Satellite spectrum would be crucial in many of the services such as communication, remote-sensing, data and launch services.

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