Since the beginning of the year, the Indian commercial space ecosystem has been buzzing with the strong possibility of auctioning satellite communication spectrum on the line of 5G and earlier generation telecom spectrum auctions. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) created the buzz. However, more recently, space industry bodies, ISpA, SIA-India, and moreover, Chairman, INSPACe, proactively argued against pursuing such auctioning. So why is India’s commercial space ecosystem opposing TRAI’s stand? Why is auctioning not favoured anywhere in the world? Do we need new methodologies to allocate space-based 5G+ spectrum? What has the US and other countries adopted while giving spectral licenses to the already operational Elon Musk’s StarLink and OneWeb satcom constellations? To answer these and other exciting questions, in this episode of Orbital Rendezvous, we have with us the Director General of the Indian Space Association (ISpA), Lt. Gen. Anil Bhatt (Retd).
