SPECTRUM ALLOCATION: MUSK'S WIN OVER AMBANI DEBUNKS 2G 'SCAM' CASE

It is significant that the Union government has backed Elon Musk's internet arm Starlink and Amazon over Mukesh Ambani Reliance and Sunil Mittal's Airtel by deciding to allot satellite spectrum administratively rather than take the auction route.

- GURBIR SINGH

The decision is a tacit admission the '2G scam' over a decade ago was a red herring; and the 'presumptive loss' of ₹1.76 lakh crore alleged by CAG for not auctioning spectrum was at best creative imagination.

For the current broadband satellite spectrum, Musk had lobbied hard against the Ambani bid to keep to auctions. In a post on X late on October 14, Musk said any decision to auction "would be unprecedented". Citing the international practice endorsed by International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Musk added: "This spectrum was long designated by the ITU as shared spectrum for satellites." Hours later, the government plumed for Musk's position. Union communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on October 15 said spectrum "will be allocated administratively in line with Indian laws". The pricing would be worked out by the telecom watchdog, he added.

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