The Spectrum Tussle - Cdma V Gsm

[Honest 836]

Raja to meet telecos, may ask them to withdraw cases

2 Oct, 2008, 1605 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: Facing flak for its policies and decisions in the last one year, like dual technology and doling out spectrum to new players that led to n

umerous legal cases involving even DoT, Ministry of Communications and IT has decided to broker peace among various warring parties.

In a move to give out-of-court settlements a try, Communications and IT Minister A Raja is likely to meet all the operators concerned to resolve the disputes.

Besides the numerous legal cases, the ministry is especially concerned about the twin disputes pertaining to GSM operators challenging Raja's decision to allow dual technology for mobile services and the opposite camp of CDMA players seeking spectrum back from existing players beyond 6.2 MHz.

Both cases are pending with the telecom tribunal TDSAT and are likely to come up for hearing in next a few weeks.

According to senior officials in DoT, the minister wants to settle all controversies before his tenure comes to an end in another 6-8 months.

Raja has asked Telecom Secretary Siddartha Behura to convene a meeting of the two rival camps--GSM and CDMA operators--and initiate the process of brokering peace.

A recent deal in the telecom space, in which a new operator Swan offloaded 45 per cent stake for USD 900 million without any infrastructure in place, has given further credence to the belief of existing players that spectrum to new-comers had been granted at throw-away prices and the government had lost thousands of crores in the process.

The existing GSM players have been saying that auctioning of 2G spectrum could have given real value to scarce radio frequency, whereas Raja feels any increase in spectrum prices would have made the services unfordable.

[Honest 836]

Extra 2G spectrum to come with rider

4 Oct, 2008, ET

NEW DELHI: Second generation (2G) spectrum allotments to GSM operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular among others will now

come with a rider: Be ready to pay a one-time fee for these radio frequencies with retrospective effect.

Currently, all telecom services in the country, whether it is on the GSM or CDMA platform, operate on second generation radio frequencies. So far, these radio frequencies were allotted free to telcos in tranches provided they meet pre-defined subscriber norms.

This means, every time a telco’s subscriber reaches a figure prescribed by the DoT, they get additional spectrum. Under the current spectrum allocation policy, GSM operators are entitled to a maximum of 15 MHz and CDMA operators 7.5 MHz in a circle.

While the current and future spectrum allotments will continue to be based on subscriber norms, telcos will however have to pay a one time fee for the radio frequencies. This fee will be specified by the DoT at a later date in consultations with the finance ministry.

The one-time fee will be applicable only for those telcos who hold radio frequencies beyond the 6.2 MHz mark in any circle. This will therefore impact only GSM players such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea Cellular and BPL since no CDMA operator holds radio frequencies beyond the 6.2 MHz. These GSM operators have up to 10 MHz of 2G spectrum in several circles.

The DoT’s move to include this rider when handing out radio frequencies implies that the government, which has been debating this issue for years, has finally decided to impose this fee.

The DoT’s move to impose a one-time fee move will bring CDMA players who have been continuously demanding that GSM players be charged for all ‘extra’ spectrum above 6.2 MHz . CDMA players also claim that the Indian telecom licence does not entitle GSM players to get radio frequencies beyond this limit.

As reported earlier by ET, the DoT plans to impose a one-time fee of Rs 266 crore per MHz of spectrum for all the second generation radio frequencies that telcos hold over the 6.2-MHz mark.

Industry sources say that as per this methodology, all GSM players combined would be forced to shell out over Rs 2,000 crore for radio frequencies they hold beyond the 6.2 MHz mark.

The DoT has arrived at this figure as follows: The entry fee of Rs 1,651 crore for a pan-India mobile licence divided by 6.2 along with prime lending rate to take care of time value of money. However, it must be pointed out that the DoT has not taken a final call on the Rs 266 crore figure.

This is because, the finance ministry wants GSM players to pay a higher one-time fee.

[Honest 836]

2G licence fee cut up to 33%, biggies to benefit

4 Oct, 2008, ET

NEW DELHI: Large telcos such as Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and BSNL will save significant amounts as the government has just slashed licence fees by 20-33% for players whose services cover over 95% of the residential areas in a state.

Currently, all telcos pay a certain percentage of their gross revenues to the government (depending on the area of operation) as licence fee. The department of telecom’s (DoT) move implies telcos will have to share considerably lower revenues with the government if they have a comprehensive presence in any state. The new rates will be applicable from April, 2009.

However, the licence fee cuts will not be applicable in the four metros. This means all operators will continue to pay 10% of their gross revenues to the government irrespective of the areas they cover within these metros.

At present, telcos pay 10% of their revenues to the government as licence fee in category A circles (Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra among others) 8% in category B zones (Kerala, Punjab and Haryana among others) and 6% for category C (Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa among others).

However, if their services cover over 95% of the residential areas, the licence fee will be down to 8%, 6% and 4% for category A, B and C circles, respectively.

Large operators such as BSNL, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications will be the biggest beneficiaries. Industry experts feel the telcos will collectively save between Rs 1,000 crore and Rs 2,000 crore annually from 2009-10 onwards. This is because in several states, these operators have extended their services to cover all census towns and all large villages.

The DoT has also clarified that a telco only has to have “identifiable physical infrastructure” in a given area to be considered as having a presence there. “Verification of coverage of each development block shall be based on verification of installation of identifiable physical infrastructure of the licensee for providing telecom access services,” said the DoT communication to all telcos.

The reduction in licence fee is due to a reduction in the telcos’ contribution to the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) which is used to fund rural telephony. Currently, all operators pay a flat 5% of their total revenues in all circles towards the USOF.

The USOF contribution has been reduced to a flat 3% for those players whose services are available in over 95% of the residential areas. Data compiled by Trai reveal that the unutilised amount in the USOF has crossed Rs 15,000 crore in 2007-end. At present, the unused amount in the USOF is likely to be well over Rs 20,000 crore.

[Honest 836]

COAI wants licence fee cut for all telcos

6 Oct, 2008, 0121 hrs IST, ET

NEW DELHI: Telcos are set to approach the department of telecom (DoT) demanding that the 20-33% cut in licence fee be applicable to all players and not just to those operators whose services extend to over 95% residential areas in a state. They also want this cut to apply to the metros.

As first reported by ET, the government last week had announced a cut in telcos contribution to the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) which in turn will result in up to 33% reduction in the licence fee. The USOF is used to fund rural telephony.

Telcos say that since the unutilised sum in the USOF kitty has already crossed the Rs 20,000 crore figure, any reduction in this levy should to be applicable to all players. Besides, they also argue that by inserting a rider of 95% coverage, the DoT was favoring state-owned BSNL.

“India’s telecom sector has been demanding a lower tax burden for several years now especially since the cellular industry here is confronted with one of the highest taxes in the world. The new announcement will not help any of the private telcos significantly,” explained an executive with a GSM player.

The executive also pointed out that data compiled by the telecom regulator Trai show that telcos pay up to 30% of their gross revenues towards different levies, as compared with 5-7% paid by the counterparts in other Asian countries.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the body representing all GSM players, is set to ask the DoT to rework the coverage clause.

“Rather then a blanket 95% coverage, we want a graded system. Telcos should enjoy licence fee cuts in a gradual manner–for instance, they can avail a certain per cent reduction when their coverage reaches 60% of a specified area, followed by subsequent reductions when their networks are available in 70%, 80% and 90% of the residential areas,” said a COAI executive. “The new policy is tailored to help only BSNL,” he added.

Currently, all operators pay 5% of revenues in all circles towards the USOF. The DoT had announced that the USOFcontribution has been reduced to a flat 3% for those players whose services are available inover 95% of the residential areas from April, 2009.

[Honest 836]

Telcos will have to pay for spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz: Raja

Business Standard l 21 Oct

Clearing the air on the contentious issue of charging the incumbent telcos for excess spectrum, Union Minister for Communication and Information Technology, A Raja today said that telcos would have to pay for spectrum beyond 6.2 Mhz.

Speaking at the sidelines of a conference here today the minister said, “We’ve decided to go ahead with the increase charge of the spectrum fee, what will be the modalities we will tell later.”

The issue has been a bone of contention between the GSM and CDMA operators. Both parties had expressed strong views and even approached the Prime Minister for a resolution to the matter.

This current move will affect major telecom operators like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, which posses spectrum above 6.2 Mhz, which was allotted to them without any additional cost.

The proposal, however, has to be cleared by the Telecom Commission, the policy making arm of Department of Telecom, before it is taken forward.

Earlier this year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recommended that allocation of a one-time charge beyond 10 MHz for GSM operators and five MHz for CDMA operators should be made by incumbents on a pro-rata basis for each additional MHz of spectrum that they would get.

The regulator had suggested that for every additional one MHz beyond 10 MHz in Mumbai, Delhi and category A circles, operators should be charged Rs 16 crore.

Further, Raja also indicated that the much waited auction of third generation (3G) spectrum could be delayed by 10-15 days. He said, “We will try to complete it by December 31. However, because of Christmas and holidays, we could postpone it for another ten days. However the deadline is December 31, subject to a little changes,” he added.

The finance ministry had written to the Department of Telecom (DoT) expressing its concern over the delay in commencing the auction process.

Commenting on the letter, Raja said, “It is a routine letter, the finance minister asks for a time line usually, that does not mean they are pushing us or asking for a delay. We will finish it (the auction process) by January 15, the operators have to submit the money by January 31.”

[Honest 836]

Govt may charge Rs 4,000cr one-time levy for extra spectrum

Press Trust of India / New Delhi l November 7, 2008

The Government may charge a one-time fee of Rs 4,000 cr for additional spectrum, Telecom Minister A Raja said today.

"The Telecom Commission will meet next week to decide on the one-time fee on spectrum beyond 6.2 Mhz. It could be Rs 4,000 cr.

The Commission will also discuss the hike in fee by 1-2% of mobile operators' revenue for using additional airwaves.

In all, the Government may get an additional Rs 5,000 cr towards increased spectrum charges," he said.

The Commission will decide when the increase will take effect. 1 % of the telcos' adjusted gross revenue will be charged for spectrum up to 8 Mhz and two per cent for spectrum up to 10 Mhz.

This will affect all leading telecom operators, including the leading player Bharti Airtel and rivals Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular.

The decision was taken after he met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday, Raja said. It is in line with a recommendation the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India made earlier this year.

[Honest 836]

Raja ready to quit over spectrum allocation row

The Times of India l 8 Nov l New Delhi

NEW DELHI: Telecom minister A Raja, accused by the Left of being responsible for a Rs 51,000 crore scam on allocation of spectrum, on Friday offered to resign if proved guilty.

This offer came in the middle of a hurried press conference addressed by Raja, flanked by DoT officials. The controversy centres on award of 2G telecom licences for a total of Rs 9,000 crore on January 10. It has been alleged that this amounted to severe underpricing, causing a loss of almost Rs 51,000 crore to the exchequer.

Recently, new licencees Swan and Unitech, which invested Rs 1,537 crore and Rs 1,651 crore respectively on spectrum, received enterprise valuations of 9,400 crore and Rs 11,620 crore. They received these valuations even though they have no telecom infrastructure, cash flows or customers.

Raja's argument is that the decision to allot licences on a first-come-first-served (FCFS) basis rather than holding auctions rested on the national telecom policy of 1999 and recommendations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in August 2007.

When questioned on the reason for overlooking the successful spectrum auctions of 2001 for the fourth mobile licence, Raja said, "I don't think any auctions took place in 2001."

The minister was seemingly unaware that the Rs 1,651 crore price at which spectrum was sold in 2008 was discovered through open, competitive, multi-stage transparent bidding (auction) conducted for the fourth mobile license in mid-2001 when the subscriber base was merely 4.2 million, compared with over 315 million today.

Raja made NTP 99 and Trai's 2007 recommendations the bedrock of his choice of FCFS over auctions for allocating new licences at 2001 prices. But the telecom ministry's press release of October 31, 2008, anchors the move on a Cabinet decision of November 2003.

Interestingly, the 2003 Cabinet decision endorses auctions. It seals a decision by a group of ministers, which in turn, accepted Trai's 2003 recommendations on unified access service licences (UASL). In section 7.39, Trai writes: "As the existing players have to improve efficiency and utilization of spectrum and if the government ensures availability of additional spectrum, then in the existing licensing regime, they may introduce additional players through a multi-stage bidding process as was followed for the fourth cellular operator."

Asked why he favoured only a handful of companies out of the 46 that applied for licences, Raja again attributed it to Trai recommendations. Later, when reminded that Trai had asked DoT to raise the licence fee from the 2001 level to prevent revenue loss, Raja ignored the question.

Raja also suggested that revenue share collections would eventually compensate for auction revenues. However, auction-based entry fee and revenue share, in fact, run concurrently. India's 2001 auctions are a case in point. New entrants paid an entry fee through an auction route and continue to pay revenue share till today.

[@ksh@T 20]

Court notice to government on spectrum allocation

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice to the central

government on a petition challenging its first come-first serve

procedure adopted in

spectrum allocation.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice S Muralidhar asked the government to file its response within three weeks and posted the matter to Dec 10, the next date of hearing.

The petition had challenged the government's policy of allocating 2G spectrum and alleged it had caused a loss of millions of rupees to the exchequer.

Arvind Gupta, the petitioner, alleged that the procedure followed by the government was non-transparent, and was intended for the benefit of some private players in the telecom industry.

Gupta also referred to an earlier judgement of the High Court delivered in 1993 by which the court had said that first come-first serve policy is unreasonable and unfair.

He questioned the government's intention of not following a competitive bidding procedure.

"The proximity of real estate developers to corridors of the department of telecom has enabled even real estate developers to overnight turn into telecom entrepreneurs. Indian real estate developers and infrastructure promoters have also become Indian telecom players," Gupta alleged in his petition

[vIa: ET]

[Honest 836]

Now thats the good news my dear friends.

[Honest 836]

Now Amar Singh claims telecom companies offered him money

The Hindu l 12 November l New Delhi

The Samajwadi Party on wednesday claimed that he was approached by major telecom companies with "obscene amounts" to maintain silence on the issue of alleged misuse of Telecom spectrum allotment.

"Representatives of major telecom companies had approached me offering an obscene amount of money to maintain silence on the issue of misuse of spectrum allocation," party General Secretary Amar Singh claimed here.

However, he refused to give details regarding who had approached him and how much money was offered.

Singh said he had "apprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh about it last week and also informed Sonia Gandhi".

Sticking to his charge that a scam had occurred during the allocation of spectrum to telecom companies, Singh alleged that many companies violated Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) norms by using more than their allotted share of spectrum.

The SP leader said he has apprised the PM and UPA chairperson of the issue and has full faith in their integrity and understanding.

"If our request for investigating this matter is not heeded, then I will personally take this matter to court", the SP leader said.

Singh said that asthe SP is supporting the UPA government, he did not want his party to be part of this "scam". "We don't want to be party to this scam," he said.

[ACS 130]

Telecom Ministers have a history of abusing Power & getting caught in controversies.

First it was Pramod Mahajan (BJP) who was accused of taking money from RComm & he resigned immdtly.

This Raja guy too, looks like crook hired by the DMK Party.

Today, there is no industry booming like telecom & this fellow has denied the exchequer Billions which could have come to some good use for the country which has recently given a 60,000 crore waiver to its farmers.

Today, Swan & Unitech are laughing all the way to the Bank as they have already made 3 times return of their investment !

Hoping that after setting up their infrastructure, they flop and pay a heavy price.

I don't think Indian Market will support so many players, just look at Virgin Mobile !

Although competition is always good but eventually many have to disappear or be taken over.

This might bring in some sense to Foreign Investors, who currently seem to have still made the right decision.

Edited November 12, 2008 by ACS

[Honest 836]

^^^

You are 100% correct my dear Jayanth.

Looking at Virgin Mobile, it doesn't seems that Indian Telecom Market can accomodate such a high number of operators.

Regards.

[srk006 21]

^^ Any idea how is virgin's subscriber growth? The AUSPI site is not showing Virgin in the operators.

[ACS 130]

^^ Any idea how is virgin's subscriber growth? The AUSPI site is not showing Virgin in the operators.

Hehe.. already packed up their bags or what ?

[amit.shah 51]

^^ Any idea how is virgin's subscriber growth? The AUSPI site is not showing Virgin in the operators.

Hehe.. already packed up their bags or what ?

neither tata nor virgin will leave so early

[HetalDP 947]

Virgin is Internal Franchisee of TATA, only operators data in shown in TRAI Reports

[ACS 130]

Virgin is Internal Franchisee of TATA, only operators data in shown in TRAI Reports

That's almost exactly what we are saying..

Tata brought around Virgin to add Brand value.. but it failed miserably.

Niether of them have achieved anything.

Truth is only RimWebians seem to be knowing more about Tata's Tariffs..

Else everybody else sings Hutch, Airtel & Reliance because of their strong Brand Name & recall value..

Edited November 13, 2008 by ACS

[srk006 21]

Virgin is Internal Franchisee of TATA, only operators data in shown in TRAI Reports

So the subscriber numbers of TATA includes Virgin customers also. right?

[thinkpositive 0]

I think you are correct srk006.

[Honest 836]

Raja debunks reports of differences with FM on spectrum

Press Trust of India l 19 Nov l New Delhi

Debunking charges that huge revenue had been lost because he ignored Finance Minister P Chidambaram's recommendations, Telecom Minister A Raja today said he had done no wrong and the government will rake in Rs 24,000 crore annually once new players start operations.

"We have absolutely no disagreement with the Finance Ministry over the spectrum and licence fee. We are working in consultation with each other and all decisions have been taken with prior permission of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh," he told PTI in an interview.

"We have gone by the practice followed in the tenure of my predecessor (Dayanidhi Maran) or even before. We have given the licence at the same rate (Rs 1658 crore) as was given to a player in 2001... It was done just 10 days before I took charge in May, 2007," he said.

Raja was responding to queries regarding political allegations that the licences along with spectrum were given at throw away prices causing a loss of over Rs 50,000 crore to the government.

"There was a cartel before I took charge... It existed till recently, now I have broken it... otherwise how come that so much of spectrum was available and it was never distributed?" he retorted to a query on the reason for the campaign against him including demand for his resignation.

Pooh-poohing the allegations of loss to the exchequer, he said now the focus is on taking in higher revenue share. Under the present dispensation, the government would get about Rs 12,000 crore as revenue share and licence fees.

"This is going to double once the new telecom players start operation and our subscriber base doubles to 600 million by 2012," he said.

[Honest 836]

Govt expects Rs5,000cr from one-time spectrum fee

Press Trust of India l 20 Nov l New Delhi

The government expects to garner about Rs 5,000 crore from the existing mobile operators such as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea by imposing a

one-time fee on those who are holding spectrum beyond the threshold limit of 6.2 Mhz, a move which will raise the cost of radio frequency.

"The Telecom Commission will announce within a couple of weeks the one-time spectrum fee for existing operators. I am told informally that it will be in the range of Rs 4,000-5,000 crore. It will be based on Rs 1,658 crore, which is the all-India licence fee," Telecom Minister A Raja said.

He said this is over and above the annual charges. Even in course of time, TRAI will give recommendation to enhance the annual charges. The date to be taken into consideration is from the day of allotment, which is to be decided by the Telecom Commission.

It will also depend on the amount of spectrum held beyond 6.2 Mhz and the circle. Raja, however, did not disclose the per Mhz charge, saying the commission would work on it.

At present Bharti, Idea, Vodafone Essar, Aircel, and BPL are holding over 6.2 Mhz in many circles. They get spectrum as per subscriber-linked allocation.

Earlier, Trai had recommended a one-time spectrum charge for 2G spectrum beyond 10 MHz for GSM operators and five MHz for CDMA operators. The regulator had suggested that for every additional MHz beyond 10 MHz in Mumbai, Delhi and category A circles, operators should be charged Rs 16 crore.

But DoT's view is, since GSM spectrum allotment beyond 10 MHz is rare and there is no spectrum allotment beyond five MHz for CDMA operators, no substantial additional revenue would accrue to the government. Therefore, it was suggested that the TRAI mandated one-time spectrum acquisition charge be levied for any allotment beyond 6.2 MHz for GSM operators.

Interestingly, the CDMA operators also want GSM operators to be charged extra for spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz. In fact, Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani has written several letters to DoT and the Prime Minister in support of this demand.

[Honest 836]

DoT denies CVC charge on 'cheap' 2G spectrum

The Economic Times l 22 Nov

SAN FRANCISCO & KOLKATA: An early resolution to the raging 2G spectrum allocation row appears a distant thought.

The department of telecom (DoT) has strongly refuted the allegations of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) that new telecom licensees like Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless walked away with windfall profits by selling their equity at valuations several times the sums they paid the government for start-up 2G spectrum.

In an internal communique to the CVC secretary KS Ramasubban, DoT has noted, “The promoters of Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless have not sold their shareholdings, but made strategic partnerships for investment in their companies, and have accordingly entered into agreements with foreign companies. Swan and Unitech have entered agreements with Etisalat and Telenor, respectively for infusion of equity capital into the companies to roll out telecom networks in their respective licensed areas. Swan Telecom and Unitech Wireless were awarded UAS licences for 13 and 22 service areas, respectively in January 2008.”

Furthermore, the DoT communication asserts, “Both companies (Swan and Unitech) have categorically mentioned that investments brought in by their strategic foreign partners (Etisalat and Telenor) would be used for rolling out services, and this could enhance their capital base keeping the absolute shareholding of their promoters intact. Thus, the question of their making windfall profits does not arise.”

According to a top government official, “DoT’s strongly-worded clarification was sent by the deputy wireless planning advisor, and was in response to CVC’s allegations that some new telecom companies which had received UAS licences (bundled with 2G spectrum) in January 2008 had indulged in “highly unethical practices” by selling equity at huge premiums even before operationalising their mobile networks or acquiring even a single subscriber.”

More importantly, the DoT-CVC duel also come at a time when Union telecom minister A Raja has been under fire both within the ruling coalition and from opposition parties over the 2G spectrum allocation policy.

DoT has also reminded the CVC that it is the declared view of the finance ministry that foreign investment through dilution of equity by new telecom companies brings in FDI for telecom network rollouts.

[ACS 130]

"We have gone by the practice followed in the tenure of my predecessor (Dayanidhi Maran) or even before. We have given the licence at the same rate (Rs 1658 crore) as was given to a player in 2001... It was done just 10 days before I took charge in May, 2007," he said.

With this statement, he has opened a can of worms against Dayanidhi Maran.. Partner in Crime it seems.

Dayanidhi Maran is also from same party i.e. DMK although having bitter relations with MK as on date.

Since all have taken bribes from all operators.. in that case, existing operators are plain jealous.

The common man is the only one who seems 'plain cheated' with politics of such nature.

[Honest 836]

NGO moves HC against DoT on excess spectrum

Business Line l 24 Nov l New Delhi

Telecom Watchdog, an NGO based in Delhi, has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court against the Government’s decision to allocate spectrum to existing mobile companies beyond what was committed in the licence.

While the mobile licence specifies spectrum allocation between 4.4 MHZ and 6.2 Mhz, some of the existing players have got even beyond 10 Mhz in some circles based on their subscriber base. Earlier, the CDMA-based operators had also filed a petition in the telecom tribunal against the excess spectrum allocation.

Seven operators

The NGO, which has also named seven mobile operators in the case, has a demanded CBI enquiry. It alleged that leading GSM operators such as Airtel, Vodafone (earlier Hutch), Reliance, Tatas and Idea were able to acquire spectrum beyond 4.4 MHz in a non-transparent manner.

The petition follows after another PIL filed was filed by an individual against the spectrum allocation policy followed by the Government under a first-come-first-serve basis to new players. The HC has issued a notice to Department of Telecom in this case.

Meanwhile, the DoT proposed to impose a one-time fee on existing players in a bid to claim the value of excess spectrum allocated to them.

[Honest 836]

Centre's spectrum policy comes under judicial scrutiny

Press Trust of India l 26 Nov l New Delhi

NEW DELHI: The spectrum allocation policy followed by the Centre in recent years has come under judicial scrutiny as the Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought response from the government on a petition challenging the policy.

A bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice S Muralidhar issued notice to the government and fixed the matter for further hearing on December 10.

The petition filed by an NGO, Telecom Watchdog, contended that the government alloted the spectrum without following any policy and cellular operators were provided excess spectrum without charging them for the scarce resource since 2001.

"The government should withdraw the excess spectrum from the operators by applying the tougher of the two spectrum allocation norms suggested by TRAI and TEC," contended advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO.

The Court, however, refrained from issuing notice to cellular companies.