Govt divided on 3G spectrum allocation

Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 2:01 am

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday night (January 28) understood to have referred the 3G spectrum allocation to private players to a Group of Ministers (GoM) further delaying its introduction more than a month after the high-end mobile service was launched over the state-run MTNL network.

Sources said the Cabinet was divided on a host of issues relating to the 3G spectrum, including limiting the number of players to a maximum of five while there are also division over the reserve price of an all-India 3G licence.

In could not be immediately ascertained if the 3G spectrum allocation has been referred to the existing GoM or a new GoM. A section of the Union Cabinet was in favour of allowing more players, opposing Communication Minister A Raja’s proposal for allowing limited number of players in this field.

Sharad Pawar, Lalu Prasad, Ramvilas Paswan, A R Antulay and A K Antony were of the opinion that unlimited players should be allowed entry to this field, the source said. Paswan suggested that the matter should be referred to a GoM, a demand which found support of Law Minister H R Bhardwaj.

Bhardwaj said the matter was very controversial and involved legal implications. Bhardwaj and Defence Minister Antony said that they were not consulted on the matter. The source said that Raja was not rigid on allowing limited players entry into 3G spectrum (radio frequency) and was open to suggestions.

A Raja while announcing the 3G policy had said that limited amount of spectrum had tied the hands of the government to allow unlimited players in 3G services. It requires a minimum 5 MHz of spectrum to roll out the services. He had said that when more spectrum would be found, it could be allotted to more players.

In fact in Rajasthan and North-East, no spectrum auction was to be held as there was no spectrum available. The highest number of players allowed in some circles was five, which included a PSU player. In certain circles, there was only one slot open for private players, leaving virtually no competition. No competition means there is no pressure on pricing to come down and no trigger to raise the quality of service. In both the cases, the consumer is likely to suffer.

(With inputs from agencies)

( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)

Govt divided on 3G spectrum allocation

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