The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will take permission from the Supreme Court to know whether satellite communications spectrum can be allotted without auctions, said an official.

The move is planned to avoid any dispute as spectrum allocation to satellite technology players has become a controversial issue. Ambitious space broadband players such as Bharti-backed OneWeb have denied any move to auction spectrum to be used for satellite communications. In contrast, operators like Reliance Jio have supported spectrum allocation to be sold to the highest bidder. “We are moving to the Supreme Court to attempt clarity on the issue of spectrum allocation to satellite players,” a DoT official said.