Reliance Requests Telecom Regulator To Examine Starlink’s And Amazon’s Reach: Report

The private letter from Reliance represents Mr. Ambani’s final attempt in the ongoing dispute with Mr. Musk over how India should distribute spectrum for satellite services.

In a letter released on Friday, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance expressed concerns that local players might be negatively impacted and requested that the telecom regulator examine the potential reach of Elon Musk’s Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper before allocating satellite spectrum.

The private letter from Reliance represents Mr. Ambani’s final attempt in the ongoing dispute with Mr. Musk over how India should distribute spectrum for satellite services. India has sided with Mr. Musk, who, in keeping with worldwide trends, desired an administrative allocation, even though Reliance has called for an auction.

After spending roughly $23 billion on spectrum auctions over the years, Reliance claimed in the letter, which Reuters reviewed, that it carried roughly 15 billion gigabytes of data per month in India. In contrast, Starlink would target the same customers with a potential capacity of nearly 18 billion gigabytes of data via its satellites at a likely much lower outlay.

According to experts, auctions typically require larger upfront costs, which might have discouraged foreign competitors in favour of Reliance.

The November 15 letter stated, “The authority should critically examine the capacities created by these mega… constellations such as Starlink and Kuiper.”

According to a senior government source at the telecom regulator, all input will be examined before final recommendations are made, hopefully by the end of the year. Amazon, Reliance, and Starlink did not reply.

Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia stated this week that Starlink is requesting security clearance for a license to provide satellite broadband services in India and will receive a permit if all requirements are met.

Mr. Ambani, who previously gave data for free on his mobile plans, and Mr. Musk have both employed similar aggressive strategies. Local telecom providers were upset when Mr. Musk set Starlink’s monthly price in Kenya at $10 as opposed to $120 in the US.

With over 479 million Indian telecom users, Mr. Ambani, the richest man in Asia, has established Reliance Jio as the dominant force. With 6,400 operational satellites circling the planet, Mr. Musk’s Starlink, a division of SpaceX, offers four million users low-latency broadband.