On October 15, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Communications of India, made clear the government’s position on the satellite spectrum issue. According to him, spectrum would be distributed administratively rather than through auction, and service providers would be responsible for a fee.
In response to a query at a media briefing at India Mobile Congress, Scindia stated that satellite spectrum will be distributed administratively as per the very clear allocation stated in Schedule 1 of the Telecom Act 2023, which was passed in December of last year.
However, Scindia made it clear that radiowaves, even if allocated for satellite-based communications services without an auction, will still incur costs. However, this does not imply that spectrum is free. Trai will determine that cost and its methodology, he reiterated.
“The constitution gives our regulating body for telecommunications the authority to decide what the administrative pricing will be. Scindia continued, “I have no doubts that they will determine the appropriate plan of action as long as they handle the pricing administratively.”
This essentially means that the request to auction off satellite airwaves by Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and other service providers remains unfulfilled. Scindia made these remarks just hours after Reliance Jio and Sunil Bharti Mittal, the founder and chairman of Bharti Airtel, joined forces to demand the distribution of satellite service spectrum in a manner similar to that of telecom companies.
Airtel and Jio Worries
To ensure level competition, both telecom companies have pursued a transparent and equitable auction procedure for satellite services. Jio has demanded that the way that Indian satellite communication firms are allotted spectrum be changed. Jio expressed concerns about fair competition with established cellular providers and asked for a reexamination of the current proposal in a letter dated October 10 to Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia.
In direct competition with land-based mobile networks, Elon Musk‘s Starlink, Amazon’s Kupier, OneWeb Eutelsat, funded by Bharti Group, and the SES-Jio joint venture have all indicated interest in offering their services in India.
Jio underlined that, like traditional telecom operators, satellite businesses like Starlink and Amazon’s Kuiper should purchase spectrum through an open auction procedure and pay license rates that are comparable to those of current telecom providers. At the India Mobile Congress, Sunil Mittal, the chairman of Bharti Airtel, reiterated this idea by saying that satellite companies providing services in cities have to take part in spectrum auctions. In addition, Airtel restated its position and released a letter it sent in March to the telecom department.
Musk Describes the Sale as “Unprecedented”
Musk responded on October 14 to Reliance Jio’s alleged action urging the government to hold a transparent auction of satellite airwaves. According to Musk, that would be exceptional because the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) has long defined this wavelength as a shared spectrum for satellites. Similar remarks were made by Scindia, who stated that satellite spectrum is administratively distributed worldwide.
“India is acting in the same manner as the rest of the globe. On the other hand, if you choose to auction, you are acting in a way that sets you apart from the rest of the world,” he opined.
Jon Oringer is an American Entrepreneur, who is well known for establishing a stock media and editing tools provider, Shutterstock. He is a programmer, photographer and a billionaire businessman. He discovered “one of the Web’s first pop-up blockers” while studying in college during 1990s. He assiduously found ten more startups that were used to sell his own software products through subscription method. He has received a number of business awards. In 2012, he received Ernst & YoungNew York’s Technology Entrepreneur of the Year award. He is serving as the Board Member at Partnership for New York City since December 2013. He holds an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion, as of 1st December 2020.
Jon was born and brought up in Scarsdale, New York. At age 5, he started learning computer programming and started coding. He used to code “simple games and plug-ins for bulletin board systems” through his Apple IIe. He developed a hobby of clicking pictures in his early teens.
He resides in West Village, in Manhattan. He became a certified commercial helicopter pilot in the year 2012. He pays around $42 million for his Miami Beach mansion, that itself marks a record.
Jon Oringer- Education
Jon completed his formal education from Scarsdale High School (1988-1992). In 1993, he was enrolled in Stony Brook University with a Bachelor of Science specialized in Computer Science and Mathematics. He received his graduation degree in 1996. He then pursued Master of Science focused in Computer Science from Columbia University (1996-1998).
Jon Oringer- Professional Life
He started making money from an early age by taking guitar lessons. He eventually went on to fix computers outside his parents house and found it more remunerative. He started selling his own software products on the internet while studying in college. He discovered and sold thousands of copies of what Forbes describes as “one of the Web’s first pop-up blockers.”
While pursuing his post graduation at Columbia University, he continued to develop products to adjunct the pop-up blocker through a subscription model. The subscription-based method initiated the growth of sales in “personal firewalls, trademark managers, accounting software, cookie blockers” and other small programs.
He asserts that he was the sole employee at those ten startups that he founded initially. He released new online tools and projects like Spectrum, a new image discovery tools in March 2013. In June 2013, he launched a subscription-based online marketplace for instructional videos named Skillfeed.
Shutterstock also launched Offset, a marketplace emphasizing high end curated photos and few months later, the company formerly launched its first Android app. He also founded SurfSecret Software, a privacy and security software company, where he served as Founder and CEO for 5 years (January 1998- January 2003).
Jon Oringer- Founder Of Shutterstock
Shutterstock Logo
Jon serves as the Founder & Executive Chairman of Shutterstock, headquartered in New York. He served as a CEO at Shutterstock. However, he announced in February 2020 that he would renounce his CEO position and serve as the Executive chairman from April 2020. Now Jon Oringer is Executive Chairman at Shutterstock. Stan Pavlovsky is the new CEO since April2020.
The company operates in more than 150 countries and 20 languages.
He founded Shutterstock in 2003 with an aim to provide microstock photography, which has been traded publicly on theNew York Stock Exchange since 2012. Thereafter, he became New York’s first tech billionaire in 2013. As of March 2016, Shutterstock had over 100,000 contributors with 1.9 million active customer base in 150 countries.
As of 2006, the company became the largest subscription-based stock photo agency in the world with 570,000 images in its collection, headed by Jon. Shutterstock acquired its rival credit based microsoft photography agency, Bigstock in 2009. In 2011, the company debuted with Shutterstock for iPad, which can be accessed for free.
Jon made Shutterstock public by issuing an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange on 17 October, 2012. Post that, he owned 55 % of Shutterstock, largely through the personal investments that he made for the company.
Jon Oringer- Business idea
Jon thought of establishing Shutterstock when he realized that emails with photos were received better than without. The idea emerged while he was going through a mailing list to market his software. It was getting difficult for him to find affordable generic stock photos online.
He then thought the idea of microstock photography with an aim to sell images over the internet at a lower range of prices. He funded his startup entirely with his own savings and handled all roles solely, including customer service. He advertised Shutterstock on major platforms like, Google AdWords.
He was a passionate photographer as well. Thus, he purchased a Canon Rebel camera to take pictures for a new stock-photo marketplace that offered its services to advertisers and microstock photography.
He captured about 100,000 images within six months. He then posted a gleaned collection of 30,000 images with a new website named Shutterstock. He made these photographs available through a subscription model, which would enable unlimited downloads and a monthly starting fee of $49.
Initially, he hired his friends to serve as models for the stock photos. Gradually, he hired a photo director to organize shoots for the company. However, with an increase in demand, he exceeded his photo supply. He eventually became an agent and hired additional contributors and reviewers to ensure quality check and editorial consistency.
Jon Oringer- Honors & Awards
Business Insider named him the coolest person in all of New York technology in 2013.
He was recognized as one of Crain’s New York class of 2013 40 under 40.
He received Ernst & Young Technology Entrepreneur of the Year of New York in June 2012.
In 2009, he was selected 41st on the Silicon Alley 100, which is an annual list of the 100 most influentialentrepreneurs, executives, investors, and technologists in Manhattan.
Jon Oringer, Founder and Executive Chairman of Shutterstock , was inducted into the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in a special ceremony at Stony Brook’s annual Engineering Ball on April 25, 2019.
Jon Oringer at Stony Brook University
Jon Oringer – FAQs
Who is the Founder of Shutterstock?
Jon Oringer is the Founder of Shutterstock.
Who is the CEO of Shutterstock?
Jon Oringer served as a CEO of Shutterstock till march 2020. Now, he is an Executive Chairman at Shutterstock. Stan Pavlovsky is the CEO of Shutterstock since April 2020.
What is the net worth of Jon Oringer?
The Net worth of Jon Oringer is $1.5 billion.
How many customers does Shutterstock have?
Shutterstock has 1.9 million active customers in around 150 countries.
Nitin Konde
