TRAI advised restraint on sub-judice matters

The government today came down strongly on the the telecom regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). The government has asked the regulator to desist from making comments on sub-judice matters like spectrum allocation.

"You are aware that some service providers, their associations and new prospective licensees have raised different related issues with TDSAT and the High Court. [Therefore], it does not seem desirable for the regulator and the government to engage in any correspondence at this stage on matters which are sub-judice," Siddhartha Behura, chairman, Telecom Commission wrote in a letter to to Nripendra Misra, chairman, Trai.

"All actions (decision on new licences, frequency allocation and fees) have been taken in accordance with established policy, with all possible transparency and a full sense of responsibility," Behura said in the letter.

Misra had last week written two letters to the department of telecommunication (DoT), accusing it of manipulating the recommendations of the Trai and misleading various telecom stakeholders.

In response, the DoT sent a 3-page letter to the Trai chairman in which it sought to clarify, in a point-wise manner, all the issues raised by him.

On the criteria for allotment of additional spectrum in the multiples of one MHz beyond 6.2 MHz, DoT stated that it was done to ensure optimum and efficient use of scarce spectrum and the spirit is in line with recommendations made by Trai.

"Trai and DoT both would want to achieve optimum spectrum utilisation in the most efficient manner with the use of latest technology. There cannot be any dispute on this," DoT said in the letter.

The GSM operators' lobby, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), has filed a petition both in telecom tribunal TDSAT and also in the Delhi High Court opposing the government's decision to allow dual technology for mobile telephony and also spectrum allocation norms.

DoT's advise to Trai chairman Misra comes after correspondence from the regulator got undue publicity, leading to a distorted debate.

On the issuance of new licences without ensuring spectrum allotment, DoT said: "The Trai has not recommended any cap on the number of licences. It may be added that during December 2006, about 20 new licences were issued, for which spectrum could be allotted only recently."

"DoT has taken appropriate decision on the applications received up to September 25, 2007. Copies of all Unified Access Service (UAS) licenses are provided to Trai. The remaining applications, received after September 25 would be processed subsequently," the letter said.

The government is of the firm view that with more competition in the mobile telephone services, the tariffs would come down by at least 50% within a year of new players starting their services.

On the spectrum charges for service providers using dual technology, the DoT said that Trai itself had stated that it would be unfair to demand higher spectrum charges merely on the grounds of combined total of spectrum without enrolling new subscribers, and also for reasons of keeping telecom tariffs affordable.