Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Aug 09, 2007
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Aug 09, 2007 ePaper |
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Broadband Info-Tech - Telecommunications Spectrum crunch hits Idea plans
Release delayed due to differences between Defence forces and the DoT Differing views in telecom circle on the manner of radio waves allocation
Our Bureau New Delhi, Aug. 8 Spectrum crunch is beginning to hit cellular operators’ expansion plans. Idea Cellular on Wednesday said that its entry into the lucrative Mumbai circle has been delayed by more than three months with the Government not allocating spectrum. Its foray into Bihar has also been on hold. The company had got the licence for the two circles in December 2006 and is awaiting spectrum from the Department of Telecom. “We had hoped to start service in these two circles by July but with no spectrum, our plans have been delayed. It will take four months after we get the spectrum to launch the service,” said Mr Rajat Mukherjee, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs, Idea Cellular. The company has also put in applications for 9 new licences, which are lying pending with the Government. Other operators including Aircel, Spice and HFCL, are also in the line for fresh spectrum. Existing pan India mobile operators such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar have also put in their application for additional radio frequency. The release of spectrum has been delayed by more than six months with the Defence forces refusing to vacate it without suitable compensation. GoM set up
A Group of Ministers has also been set up to work out the differences between the Armed forces and the DoT. While they are demanding an alternate medium of communication at an investment of Rs 1,800 crore before they release spectrum, DoT wants immediate vacation given the crunch being faced by the mobile operators. The GoM is expected to meet next month to resolve the conflict. Another issue that is holding up the release is the division within the telecom industry on the manner in which the radio waves should be allocated. While existing operators are claiming first right to the available spectrum, new entrants want it to be auctioned since there is a scarcity. While existing operators are urging the Government to put a cap on the number of operators, new entrants are urging DoT to stipulate stringent technical parameters so that operators use spectrum in an efficient way. DoT has put in place a committee to review its existing allocation policy based on subscriber base.
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