Raja
backs DoT stance on first-come-first-served basis
The minister says there would be enough scope for
allotment of spectrum to few new operators even after meeting the requirements
of existing operators and licensees
Pankaj Mishra
Bangalore
New Delhi: Minister for communications and
information technology Andimuthu Raja has backed his department’s stand on
issuing telecom licences and radio spectrum to new applicants on a
first-come-first-served basis as per the existing rules.
In a 2 November letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a copy of which was viewed by ‘Mint’, Raja said there was no departure from the rules “as there would be enough scope for allotment of spectrum to few new operators even after meeting the requirements of existing operators and licensees”. Some 60MHz of spectrum would be available for 2G services, after the ministry of defence vacates the spectrum this December. ‘Business Standard’ reported on Sunday about the department of telecom’s (DoT) stand on spectrum allocation, noting Raja’s letter to the PM. The issue of auctioning the spectrum was also considered by the telecom commission, but was not recommended as the existing licence holders, such as Bharti Airtel Ltd, “have already got up to 10MHz of spectrum without any spectrum charge,” the minister said. “It will be unfair and capricious to auction spectrum to new applicants as it will not give them a level playing field.”
“The ministry of law suggested referring the matter
to the empowered group of ministers, which is totally out of context,” wrote
Raja. “Now the department has decided to continue with the existing policy of
(first-come- first-served) for processing of applications received up to 25
September.” Raja also justified an eight-fold increase in subscriber base
criteria for giving additional spectrum to incumbent operators such as Bharti.
Source: The Mint.
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DoT rejects law ministry suggestion for GoM on new licences |
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Press Trust Of India / New Delhi November 05, 2007 |
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The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has rejected the law ministry’s suggestion to set up a Group of Ministers to handle 575 applications for allotment of licences, saying it was in continuation of the existing policies. |
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In a letter to apprise the prime minister about the latest developments in the department, Communication Minister A Raja has said the DoT has decided to continue with the existing policy (first-cum-first-served) for processing of applications received up to September 25, 2007. |
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The procedure for the remaining applications would be decided at a later date and in the event of availability of any spectrum after processing the applications received up to September 25. |
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“Since, generally new major policy decisions of a department or inter-departmental issues are referred to a GoM, and, needless to say, that the present issue relates to procedures, the suggestion of the law minister is totally out of context,” Raja said in the letter. |
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DoT had received a huge number of applications for licences to provide telephony services after the government fixed a cut-off date of October 1 for receiving applications. |
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“The department wanted to examine the possibility of any other procedure, in addition to the current procedure of allotment of licences, to process the huge number of applications,” the minister said, adding that the DoT sought the law ministry’s views to examine the legal tenability of alternate methods to avoid future legal complications. |
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“The minister of law and justice, instead of examining the legal tenability of these alternative procedures, suggested referring the matter to an empowered GoM,” he said. |
Source: The Business Standard
Spectrum Issue
Telecom Minister sends letter to
PM
New Delhi, November 4
Amid drama on high stake spectrum, communication minister A Raja informed Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh that the Cellular Operators’ Association of India
(COAI) was misleading the nation against ‘scientific approach’ on frequency
allocation.
Ahead of Bharti Airtel’s
petition to Singh for his intervention, Raja sent a letter to the Prime
Minister’s office informing about the ministry’s approach.
In fact, Raja’s
communication exposed the divide in the powerful COAI, which had challenged the
usage of dual technology and spectrum allocation at the apex tribunal TDSAT,
saying: “operators have openly admitted that the COAI had misled them, media
and the public in general.” Raja said he was following all the issues,
including those in the regime of his predecessor Dayanidhi Maran, as “honest
endeavours” aimed at developing the telecom sector, increase the teledensity
and “lower the tariff for the benefit of the public in general and customers in
particular.” Reliance and Tata had sought to take benefit of the dual
technology immediately after the announcement of the new policy mechanism, a
move that provoked COAI into action. — PTI
Source: The Tribune
No auctioning of spectrum, Raja tells PM DH News Service New Delhi: Communications Minister A Raja has informed the Prime Minister that there would not be any auctioning of scarce spectrum, as is being demanded by some GSM operators, even as he accused GSM body Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) of misleading the nation on the scientific approach adopted on frequency allocation.
Rejecting the demand of
the cellular operators, he said in a letter to the Prime Minister that since
some frequency had been given free of charge to all the earlier players, it
would be “unfair, discriminatory, arbitrary and capricious” to auction spectrum
to new applicants, “as it will not give them a level playing field.”
Conditions
He said the CDMA operators would allot spectrum only if the requirement of GSM
players was fulfilled and that there was enough scope for the allotment to a
few new operators even after meeting the requirements of existing operators and
licensees.
“Waiting for spectrum for long after getting licence is not unknown to the
industry and even at present, Aircel, Idea, Vodafone and Dishnet are waiting
for initial spectrum in some circles since December 2006,” he said in the
letter written on Friday.
Alleging that the COAI itself was divided though it had approached the TDSAT on
the issue of usage of dual technology and spectrum allocation, he said,
“Operators have openly admitted that the COAI had misled them, the media and
the public in general.”
He said operators like Aircel and Spice Telecom had disassociated from COAI’s
petition after getting clarification from him. “I would like to inform that
there was, and is, no single deviation or departure in the rules and the
procedures contemplated in all the decisions taken by my ministry,” he said,
rejecting the COAI’s allegations.
The Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) report on spectrum allocation has not been
challenged by anyone including the COAI as it was done on a “scientific basis”,
he said, adding that “full transparency” would be maintained in future also.
Source The Deccan Herald
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DoT firm on spectrum
approach; GSM lobby split |
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NEW DELHI: Amid drama on high stake spectrum,
Communication Minister A Raja informed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that
Cellular Operators Association was misleading the nation against 'scientific
approach' on frequency allocation. |
Source:- The Economic Times
Telecom News dated 05-11-2007