Shut up & let 2G investigators do their job: Mittal to peers

Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal on Tuesday said telecom operators should shut up and let investigations into the 2G scam run its course, rather than attack each other.

In an interview at the GSMA conference here on Tuesday, Mittal broke his silence on the scam and the very public spat between Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications: “My plea is that the industry shut their mouths; zip up and let the various investigative agencies do their job,” he said.

On Sunday, RCom lashed out at “old 2G operators” for wrangling huge benefits. The Anil Ambani-led firm said incumbents had extended their licence period from 10 to 20 years and bagged spectrum beyond the contracted 6.2 MHz again without paying anything. RCom and Tata Tele have also been embroiled in a heated exchange of words on dual-technology licensing in the last few days.

Mittal said the unravelling 2G scam had adversely impacted the Indian telecom story. “It is surely hurting, and the future of investments is in question. For any sector, such negativity is not good,” he said.

Mittal also came out strongly against Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, saying its new recommendation on pricing 2G spectrum is unacceptable. “Trai has always been wrong when it has tried to decide the price of spectrum .The price should be left to the market, based on auctions. For example, Trai has recommended that the price of 2G spectrum in, say, West Bengal be 800 per cent more than 3G. That does not make sense,” said Mittal.

While refusing to be drawn into accusations by RCom that incumbents like Bharti were key beneficiaries of spectrum allotment, Mittal said: “Our legitimate need for spectrum as per the licence was blocked and no fresh 2G spectrum has been given. That, of course, forced us to suffer, as we had call drops. That is why we aggressively bid for 3G spectrum and bought it at such a high price — so that we can meet the spectrum shortage,” he added.

Mittal hoped that the new telecom policy would provide a level playing field and also a long-term road map on spectrum. He said India has not even scratched the surface of the amount of spectrum available in the country. “We have 75 MHz in 1,800 (band); then, there is more 3G and BWA spectrum, which will be available for auction,” he added.