Telcos cast satellite Internet as a threat to terrestrial networks

• Telecom operators and satellite Internet operators on Friday engaged in an occasionally contentious discussion on regulating services like SpaceX’s Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper satellite Internet, as part of an open house discussion by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
• Telecom operators cast doubt on the wisdom of freely allowing satellite Internet services to operate in India, and the latter defended their operations.
• “It is not an open and shut case of administrative assignment,” said Ravi Gandhi, a regulatory executive with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd., advancing a legal argument that the Telecommunications law does not automatically exempt satellite internet services players like Starlink from participating in a spectrum auction.
• Parnil Urdhwareshe, a SpaceX executive, flagged “frankly unfortunate and entirely false allegations of possible predatory pricing” leveled against satellite internet operators.

“If we take India’s portion, there would be around 500 to 600 satellites always over India, and up to 3,000, if multiple satellite constellations served the country, leading to more ground stations,” the Reliance Jio Infocomm representative said.