The Hindu Business Line : PM wants transparency in spectrum allocation

Sorting out telecom tangle: The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mr A. Raja, at the India Telecom 2007 conference in the Capital on Wednesday. –

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Dec. 12 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has said that the spectrum policy should be fair, transparent, equitable and one that does not lose sight of the revenue earning potential to the Government.

Addressing the inaugural session of the Telecom India Summit 2007 here on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said, “The policy regime for making spectrum available should be fair, and forward looking. It should not create entry barriers to newcomers or barriers to the continued growth of the sector. At the same time, the revenue potential to the government must not be lost sight of. In the final analysis, the key issues are correct pricing, fair allocation rules, and a pro-competitive stance,” Dr Singh said.

The statement comes in the wake of a prolonged battle for spectrum between various operators and the Communications Ministry. Companies such as Reliance Communications and Tata Telservices are waiting for GSM spectrum to be allocated based on the price fixed by the Ministry. On the other hand, Bharti Airtelhas offered in excess of Rs 2,650 crore if the Government opts for auction.

However, the Communications Minister, Mr A. Raja, said on the sidelines of the telecom summit that though the auction was a fair and transparent way , it was illegal and would create entry barriers for new players as the existing operators had got spectrum almost free of charge. “We cannot adopt auctioning route for existing 2G due to legal barriers. But for the next generation mobile services (3G), the government has already announced a policy that frequency will be allocated on the basis of auction,” Mr Raja said.

When asked how the government would generate revenues as pointed out by the Prime Minister, Mr Raja said, “We already have annual licence fee based on percentage of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) and we are also going to auction spectrum for 3G services.”

Senior DoT officials added that additional revenue for the Government would be generated once licences are issued to new players on a first-come, first-served basis.

‘Act fast’ plea

Dr Singh also said that he had instructed the Group of Ministers, looking at ways to get spectrum vacated from the defence forces, to quickly chart out a roadmap for future allocations of radio waves for mobile services. “I am aware that spectrum availability can be a constraint for the growth of this sector in future. I have asked the Group of Ministers tasked with this to expeditiously conclude its deliberations and suggest a roadmap regarding availability and timing.”

The Prime Minister also urged the operators to make use of spectrum in an optimal manner.