Spectrum issue echoes in Parliament

CMN Bureau NEW DELHI: Even as the telecom industry is expecting the final recommendations on spectrum allocation to telecom service providers anytime now, the issue has now echoed in the Parliament. In a written reply to Ravi Shankar Prasad and Ram Jethmalani who raised a question in this regard in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Shakeel Ahmed said that the subject was ‘sub-judice.’

“On 17.10.2007, Government has taken a decision on the recommendations dated 28.8.2007 of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Review of license terms & conditions and capping of number of access providers”.

TRAI has made the said recommendation after following a consultation process with the stakeholders including Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI). COAI and others have challenged the Government decision on these recommendations in Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) and the matter is sub-judice,” he said.

To another question on the norms adopted for spectrum allocation by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Ahmed reiterated that the Service License Agreements had been followed. “The Initial spectrum is allotted to the service providers in accordance with the relevant provisions of their respective Service License Agreements. There are no upfront charges for spectrum and spectrum usage charges only are levied (on revenue share basis).

The amount of Rs. 1651.57 crore is charged as one time entry fee fro the telecom service license for all service areas in the country,” he clarified. Meanwhile, 19 members of parliament (MPs) have written to the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh to intervene in the matter and amicably solve the spectrum allocation issue. The MPs have asked the prime minister to ensure ‘surplus’ airwaves be given to the service providers waiting to start their operations.

“For the sake of fair competition, it is imperative that the government allows new players in the cellular mobile sector,” they said in their letter. The 19 MPs have supported the TRAI recommendations, saying the dominant GSM players have cornered 10 MHz of spectrum across all circles, even as Tata Teleservices demanded equal spectrum for CDMA operators on par with GSM players.