The Hindu Business Line : Spectrum pricing recommendations legally untenable, says COAI

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Spectrum pricing recommendations legally untenable, says COAI

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New Delhi, Sept. 6 The Cellular Operators Association of India on Thursday told the Government that the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India related to spectrum and capping of mobile operators were flawed, based on incorrect assumptions and in several instances, legally untenable.

In a letter to the Department of Telecom, COAI said that the recommendations did not take into account the fundamental issue of a spectrum constraint that is being faced by the Government which was the backdrop against which the recommendations were sought. “There is a fundamental disconnect between a finite resource (spectrum) on one hand and a policy of open and unlimited competition on the other,” COAI said.

TRAI had suggested that there should not be any cap on the number of mobile operators in the sector.

‘No cap’ approach

“A ‘no cap’ approach in the current regime where spectrum is admittedly bundled with licence, would encourage arbitrage seekers, spectrum squatters and proxy holders, and potentially create an irreversible and irreparable situation, causing havoc in a performing sector,” it said.

In a strongly worded letter, the association also said that while the reference made by the Government to TRAI did not seek any recommendation on the issue of spectrum allocation and pricing, the authority has made its suggestions without following the due process as also the mandate of transparency as required under the Act. These issues were neither raised as a part of the consultative process nor were the inputs from various stakeholders shared transparently.

User linkage criteria

COAI added that the ad hoc subscriber linkage criteria recommended by TRAI “was completely unacceptable as it was based on assumptions that are incorrect, technically flawed and impossible to achieve.”

On the decision to allow mixed use of technology, it said that by allocating GSM spectrum to CDMA operators, the Government would in fact be reducing the quantum of spectrum available to GSM operators. “This is legally untenable as any amendment of licence to allow a CDMA licensee to also acquire a de facto GSM licence, would be a breach of licence of the GSM operator, especially in a scenario where GSM spectrum is admittedly in very short supply,” the GSM industry association said.