Sibal assures level-playing field for all telecos

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The government will ensure a level-playing field for all telecom operators, irrespective of the technology platform they operate from, as the overriding objective was to maintain growth, Communications Minister Kapil Sibal said on Wednesday.

"I was very happy the three captains of the telecom sector that I met were extremely constructive about their approach and they appreciated the fact that an assurance was being given for a level-playing field," Sibal said.

His reference was to his separate meetings on Tuesday with Airtel chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, Tata Teleservices chairman Ratan Tata and Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani, and similar ones scheduled with other players.

"The real problem is that there is scarcity of spectrum. We need to increase the amount of spectrum that can be distributed because this is the vehicle through which the people of India will be empowered," said the minister.

"I wanted to reassure them the government is going to play a constructive role in taking the industry forward. It is not in our interest to destroy the sector," he said. "Also I wanted to give them confidence and assure them of a level playing field."

Sibal's remarks came against the backdrop of allegations and counter-accusations by some telecom firms and interested parties over alleged favouritism in the allocation of airwaves or spectrum for second generation (2G) mobile phone services in the previous round.

Two major technologies are in operation the Indian mobile telecom space today -- Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) -- and operators of each of the two claim their architecture is superior.

Tuesday's meetings started as the communications ministry began issuing notices to those firms that had failed to comply with the roll-out norms for 2G telecom services, as also those that had not disclosed their proper corporate structure.

Sibal has maintained that there were 119 cases where roll-out obligations were not met and 85 cases where firms had manipulated the self-certification process about their financial strength and main line of business to get the licences.

Last week, India's telecom watchdog had recommended scrapping 69 of the 130 licences given for 2G phone services since December 2006. Of these, 20 had been issued to Loop, 15 to Etisalat DB, 11 to Sistema-Shyam, 10 to Videocon, 8 to Uninor, and 5 to Aircel.

The licences stipulate coverage of at least 90 per cent of the areas in metro centres within one year. In non-metro areas, 10 per cent of the towns must be covered in the first year and 50 per cent within three years.

Last month, DMK leader A. Raja resigned as communications minister after the official audit institution indicted him in the spectrum scam and said he caused notional losses of Rs.58,000 crore ($12.8 billion) to Rs.1.76 lakh crore ($40 billion) to the exchequer.

Raja - also being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - is alleged to have sold spectrum at below market rates. Sibal has also named a one-man panel to examine how appropriate the current norms are to allocate airwaves to telecom players.