Govt to allocate spectrum to new players

Setting at rest the controversy over allocation of spectrum, the government on Wednesday said it would start apportioning air waves to new entrants including  Reliance Communications under the dual technology clause - a process that the appellate telecom tribunal refused to stay.

The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) refused to stay the issuance of new licenses to those who had applied as of September 25. The Department of Telecom had started the process on Tuesday.

Appearing for DoT, Solicitor General G E Vahanvati told TDSAT that the government would go ahead with the allotment of start-up spectrum to the new players. He also said that Tata Teleservices' application for use of cross-over technology would be considered favourably.

Just before the TDSAT ruling, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had said that spectrum should be allocated in a transparent and equitable manner to new entrants for encouraging competitiveness. "We are going to allot the start up spectrum... this would be maximum up to 6.2 Mhz," he said.

The move should help as many as 25 aspirants, including Unitech, Parsvnath, DLF, HFCL and Shyam Telecom, seeking to enter the lucrative GSM mobile services space.

On Cellular Operators Association of India's plea to stay the process of issuing new licenses TDSAT chairman Arun Kumar said "This is matter of pubic policy. I would not decide, let the government decide on it."

The GSM lobby group also informed the tribunal that it has boycotted the committee formed by the DoT for reconsidering the Telecom Engineering Centre's report.

Justifying its stand to allocate license to RCom, the Solicitor General said: "Our concern is for maximum competition in this sector. So we are giving...there are operators having more than 10 Mhz spectrum. How should we give them more".

Earlier in the day, COAI counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi had alleged that the government's decision was malafide and said it would challenge the report of a committee formed to review it.

To this, the TDSAT chairman said: "I find myself in a difficult situation in the face of this status. "This committee consists of experts from IIT and other big names... why should I not let them (continue with their work)," said Arun Kumar, directing the DoT to file the report of the committee along with an affidavit.