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TRAI releases 2G pre-consultation paper
India Blooms News Service
New Delhi, Feb 3 (IBNS) The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Friday released a Pre-consultation Paper on “Allocation of Spectrum in 2G band in 22 Service Areas by auction” for comments of the stakeholders.
"The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in its Judgment dated 2nd February 2012 in the writ petitions no 423/2010 and 10/2010, has directed TRAI to make fresh recommendations for grant of licence and allocation of spectrum in 2G band in 22 Service Areas by auction, as was done for allocation of spectrum in 3G band," it said.
TRAI said on the issue of “Allocation of spectrum in 2G band in 22 Service Areas by auction”, stakeholders have been requested to send their comments/suggestions on the issues involved.
"Written comments are invited from the stakeholders by 15th February, 2012," it said in a release.
"Keeping in view the time bound nature of exercise, no extension of time will be given," it said, urging to send the comments in electronic form to Sudhir Gupta, Pr. Advisor (MS), TRAI.
TRAI said on the issue of grant of licences, "TRAI in its recommendation on 'Spectrum Management and Licensing Framework' dated 11th May 2010 had already recommended that all future licences should be Unified Licences and that spectrum be delinked from the licence."
“Draft Guidelines for Unified Licensing Regime” were also placed on TRAI website www.trai.gov.in on Jan 16, 2012 for comments of the stakeholders, it said.
India’s Supreme Court on Thursday ordered 122 telecoms licences issued under a scandal-tainted 2008 sale be revoked, delivering a decisive blow against a government that has been grappling to leave behind the fiasco that has roiled the nation for more than a year.
TRAI chairman J S Sarma Thursday said there will not be any more "first come first serve basis issuance of telecom licences" and any new company has to go by auctions. He also ruled out any major effect on consumers who can always port out to other operators.
He said auctions were already recommended by the TRAI from Nov 2010 onwards.
"The market mechanism is always the best. I believe that the sector has evolved to an extent where now auctions could be the method of allocation of spectrum," he told a business news portal.
He the Supreme Court has given four months' time and subscribers can go to other operators.
He said that subscribers can port out in four months time and the companies affected are less than 5 percent of market share holders.
Even though the ruling potentially affects fewer than 5 percent of users in the world's second biggest cellular market, it applies to 122 licences held by eight operators and risks damaging investor confidence besides turning the heat back on a scam-battered coalition government.
Saying that using a first-come-first-serve policy to allocate national resources like airwaves is dangerous, and designed to benefit any one "with access to power corridors", the court came down on the process that sees former telecoms minister A Raja languish in jail, pending trial.
The scandal over the alleged allocation of telecoms licences at below-market prices, could have lost the treasury up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore, according to the government’s auditor, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
Imposing penalties on violating firms, the apex court on Thursday said the Telecom Regulatory Authority in India (TRAI) must ensure issuance of fresh licences, allowing four months to cancel the licences and issue fresh ones by auction.
Uninor has to pay a penalty of Rs 5 crore while Swan Telecom and Tata Telecom will also have to pay the same, media reports said. Loop, S-Tel, Allianz and Sistema Shyam have been fined Rs 50 lakh each.
The licences cancelled by the Supreme Court include 22 of Uninor, 21 of Videocon, 9 of Idea, 21 of Loop, 6 of S-Tel, 21 of Sistema, 3 of Tata Teleservices, 13 of Swan and 2 of Allianz, reports said.
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