Government puts all spectrum allocation on hold again

The finance ministry has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to defer from all further allocation of spectrum until the government takes a decision on the recommendations of the 'spectrum review committee', formed last year.

This could affect the services expansion plans of existing players like Airtel and Vodafone.

The spectrum committee, chaired by additional secretary in Department of Telecommunications Subodh Kumar, had recommended in its report in May that 2G (second-generation) spectrum should be auctioned as in most countries, and not based on the number of subscribers.

The issue is becoming increasingly farcical. In a letter to telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura, finance secretary Ashok Chawla said, ''It may be ensured that no further allocations of spectrum are made by DoT until a final view had been taken on the recommendations of the report.''

Until this happy event, the long-promised auction of 3G spectrum will also not happen. The Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), in a ruling in March this year, had categorised all spectrum allocated beyond 6.2 Mhz as illegal and had asked DoT to finalise views on the issue within a month of committee submitting the report.

The committee, in its final report, has proposed auction of all 2G spectrum beyond 4.4 Mhz in the case of existing operators and auction of all spectrum for any new licences granted. It also recommended that telecom companies be allowed to buy, sell and transfer spectrum for a fee.