Govt to refer to Trai operator density issue

The government today said it will refer the issue of the number of telecom operators in a circle to regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in the wake of a recent Delhi High Court judgment.

The judgment had quashed the Department of Telecom (DoT) notification fixing September 25, 2007, as the cut-off date for granting telecom licence bundled with startup 2G spectrum.

The court had also asked the DoT to consider Chennai-based S Tel's application, which came after September 25, 2007, for 16 circles.

Asked whether in the backdrop of the judgment the government will look at the deadline retrospectively, Telecom Minister A Raja said, "No... It will be decided legally."

Asked about the judgment, he said the issue on the number of operators would be referred to Trai.

"That will be referred to Trai... Because Trai has to periodically review the number of operators in the country," Raja said.

The deadline for allocating new licence was October 1, 2007. But later due to a huge rush of applications, the DoT had amended the criteria and fixed September 25, 2007, as the cut-off date for issuing new licences bundled with start-up spectrum.

On the government's expectations of garnering Rs 35,000 crore as revenue from auction of 3G and broadband wireless access spectrum, he said, "Chances are there... I am optimistic to corroborate the figures given in the Budget."

However, he added that the "expectation is something different... One cannot assess what will be the exact amount... Once the base price is fixed we can anticipate how much revenue will be generated".