Incumbents must return excess spectrum: Raja

Communications Minister A Raja has made it clear that the department of telecommunications (DoT) would stick to its stand that mobile operators return all excess spectrum (the radio waves that enable wireless communications) that they have received beyond their contractual obligations.

The game-plan is to "refarm" excess spectrum equitably between new and incumbent operators.

According to top officials at the ministry, DoT will be forced to take back spectrum from the operators unless they decide to surrender it.

"Three leading operators have excess spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz and there is no Cabinet approval for spectrum allocations beyond 6.2 Mhz. The previous BJP-led government gave it away without Cabinet approval. The matter has already been raised in Parliament and a CBI enquiry has been demanded by some politicians," said the official.

Under the licence agreement, operators of GSM services are entitled to spectrum up to 6.2 MHz while CDMA operators have been permitted spectrum up to 5 MHz.

Raja met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this evening to discuss the contentious telecom issue. This is the second meeting between the two in the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, DoT Secretary D S Mathur has again called all the CEOs of telecom companies for a follow up meeting to discuss possible solutions to the telecom imbroglio. Mathur had a meeting with all the top telecom chief executives just a few days ago when these companies gave their views on the issue.

"The ministry is politically bound to look for a settlement and conciliation and that is why DoT is going to talk to the operators again," a source added.

DoT is also raising another issue "" with regard to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India continuing to pursue a policy of "forebearance" (where operators are allowed to fix their own tariffs) for telecom tariffs.

"Cable TV rates are being regulated and set at very affordable levels by the same regulator. However, the same regulator is allowing telecom operators to set their own tariffs. Why is it that all GSM operators offer the same rates and don't compete among themselves? There is no healthy competition in the sector," a source said.

DoT has also once again ruled out a proposal from the GSM operators "" that spectrum beyond 10 Mhz be auctioned. "That is legally impossible," a source said.