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| DoT to wait till Nov-end for Trai advice on 2G |
| BS Reporter / New Delhi Sep 01, 2009, 01:13 IST |
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The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has agreed to extend till end-November the time limit for the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to give its recommendations on the allocation of 2G spectrum.
This comes after Trai rejected a DoT advice that its recommendations had to legally be given within 60 days of the government referring an issue to the regulator.It also means a number of operators looking for additional spectrum to expand their operations are now stuck till at least December.
The DoT had, in a letter on July 7, asked Trai to give its recommendations on the report of a committee set up for allocation of access spectrum and pricing. The report came in May and recommended sweeping changes in 2G spectrum pricing, by suggesting these be auctioned instead of being given on the basis of subscriber addition. If accepted, this will fundamentally change the way spectrum has been allocated to operators and bring it in line with the 3G policy.
Trai, in a letter to DoT on August 21, said the government had asked it to give its recommendation on the basis of Section 11(1) (a) of the Trai Act. However, the report raised issues going well beyond this section and there are enough precedents in which the regulator has given its recommendations much beyond 60 days. It said the time taken in each case depends on the issues involved and the time required for proper consultation.
Trai’s letter also said DoT was aware that any recommendation had to, legally, come only after consultation with all stakeholders. As the issues are so complex and will have far-reaching consequences for the future of telecom, elaborate consultation is required. Which is why, noted the Trai letter, the committee set up to study the 2G pricing issue in June 2008 could give its report only in May 2009, because of the complexity of the issues.
Trai also recalled that it had, on August 4, told DoT that the issue of capping the number of access providers (for which a recommendation was also sought by DoT on July 22) in terms of pending applications for grant of UASL licences was linked to the issue of 2G spectrum allocation. Therefore, it intended to send a consolidated recommendation covering all the issues.
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