A war of words has broken out in social media between telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh over the contentious issue of allocating spectrum for satellite-based services through an administrative process instead of the settled practice of conducting auctions.

Ramesh stoked the issue by suggesting that the BJP, which had “reaped huge political dividends” by fanning a media frenzy over spectrum allocations by the UPA regime through an administrative process rather than an auction, had flipped its stand and now supported the idea of allocating spectrum to a bunch of satellite communication providers.

Scindia hit back: “Satellite spectrum cannot be auctioned due to technical and operational reasons.”

The satellite spectrum in the Ku band (around 14 GHz) and Ka band (27.1 to 31 GHz) is inherently shareable in nature and, therefore, it is neither desirable nor feasible to allocate it through auction. Given that satellite spectrum is highly under-utilised, failing to assign it would result in two key disadvantages: potential loss of government revenue, and missed opportunities to advance technology that could help bridge the digital divide. “No country in the world currently auctions satellite spectrum,” he added.

He went on to slam the Congress-led UPA for presiding over the “2G scam,” which he termed as a “blot on the country’s history.”

Ramesh riposted that the BJP had drummed up a fraudulent revenue loss in the 2G case which did not stand up to judicial scrutiny.

The latest slanging match stems from a reply to a recent parliamentary question that confirmed that the NDA has decided to assign spectrum for satellite-based communications administratively.

It also comes at a time when the telecom regulator is due to submit its recommendations on the allocation of spectrum for satellite-based services. Some media reports had suggested that Trai would put out its report by December 15. But it has been delayed for unknown reasons.

Telecom giants Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea have opposed the administrative allocation of satellite spectrum

Scindia reiterated that any administrative allocation would not come free of cost, as the government has sought recommendations on pricing.