Headlines Of The Day
Will TRAI relent to revise satcom spectrum rules
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) yesterday had expressed that it will not be consider Reliance Jio’s demand to revise its consultation paper on the administrative pricing of satellite spectrum. The regulator is of the view that since the Telecom Act has already paved the way for administrative allocation of satellite spectrum, the consultation paper is to find ways to price it within that framework.
PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry Executive Director Ranjeet Mehta has now written to the regulator that addressing the issue of a level playing field between terrestrial and satellite-based communication services violates Article 14 of the Constitution. “Moreover, not addressing the concerns to ensure a level playing field between satellite and terrestrial access services during the consultation process may violate Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, resulting in arbitrary discrimination and undermining the right to equality. We sincerely request TRAI to issue a revised consultation paper that includes specific questions related to ensuring a level playing field,” says Mehta.
BIF represents companies like OneWeb, Amazon, and Hughes, among others. It maintains that their demand is against the law of the land and the recently enacted Telecom Act. A couple of stakeholders are deliberately misinterpreting the law, particularly Section 4 of the Telecommunications Act, to demand auctioning of satellite spectrum and ultimately serve their commercial interests, says BIF.
BCS Bureau
