'Easier' policy for Musk's Starlink: Akash Ambani, Mittal raise concerns at event attended by Modi

Discontent is brewing among domestic telecom players over what they consider "easier" market access for multinational companies, ToI reported on October 16.

Jio's Akash Ambani and Airtel's Sunil Mittal recently voiced concerns about market access for multinational corporations in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the report by (Pankaj Doval) said.

During the India Mobile Congress, Ambani emphasised the need for the local storage of data and expressed worries about data being moved abroad.

Mittal added to the debate, suggesting that foreign satellite communications companies should purchase spectrum through auctions, similar to domestic firms.

Essentially, these statements highlighted a potential conflict between Indian telecom companies and foreign firms like Elon Musk’s Starlink and Jeff Bezos’s Project Kuiper.

Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had announced a day ago that satellite spectrum would be "allocated administratively but at a cost" that would be fixed by the Trai. Musk had recently revealed his plans to compete and offer Internet services in India through Starlink.

Musk plans pits him directly against the top telcos in India such as Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, and a fierce battle on that front is expected to begin soon.

The concern among the local players is that an auction-free route could make it easier for these foreign companies to enter the Indian market, increasing competition.

Airtel and its big rival Jio are together pushing for equal treatment between telecom and satcom services. It may be mentioned here that Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb too is vying to commence satcom services in India soon.