GSM operators, DoT once again at loggerheads over spectrum

After a brief lull, GSM operators are once again at loggerheads with the government over spectrum allocation saying new players should not be

given frequency other than on first-come-first-serve basis decided by their application date.

The government is, however, in no mood to wait as neither the telecom tribunal TDSAT nor the Delhi High Court has stayed the process to issue telecom licences to nine firms who have been given letters of intent (LoIs) last month, or allocation of spectrum to start mobile services as soon as possible.

A senior official in the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) said the process of issuing licences had begun with Telecom Secretary Siddhartha Behura giving his nod. Communications Minister A Raja is expected to sign the file very soon.

"We are extremely perturbed and concerned to read in media reports that the DoT is planning to go ahead and sign licence agreements/ amendments and finalise the allocation of start up GSM spectrum to LoI/in-principle approval holders in utter disregard of the pending adjudications in TDSAT/Delhi High Court," Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in a letter to Behura.

The DoT had also recently said that first-come-first-serve policy would be followed for compliance with the terms and conditions of LoIs, which include depositing fees, performance bank guarantees and others.

The COAI said that priority of some of their members for grant of license/consequential allocation of start up spectrum had been compromised due to the incorrect implementation of the first-come-first-serve policy of the government.

Birlas' owned Idea Cellular and BK Modi-led Spice Communications have approached the TDSAT, saying they should be allocated air waves ahead of others as they had applied for the same in December 2006.

In his letter to Behura, COAI Director General TV Ramachandran also mentioned Delhi High Court's observation in a writ petition filed by Parsvnath Developers who were denied LoI last month.

The government has been saying that telecom tariffs, especially in the mobile segment, would come down by at least 50 per cent as and when new players enter the GSM telephony space.