Spectrum allocation to telecom players in India under CVC scrutiny

While DoT has been championing the cause of the present route, saying that it was difficult to treat unified access service licence (UASL) on par with fixed-line or mobile licences, most other wings of the government have supported adopting the auction route.

NEW DELHI: The spectrum allocation process has come under the scrutiny of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), following complaints regarding the process adopted by the department of telecom (DoT).

Sources said CVC has asked telecom secretary Siddhartha Behura to make a presentation before the commission on January 28 and has also circulated a questionnaire seeking DoT's comments on various issues, including the department's decision against auctioning airwaves used by mobile services operators for carrying signals.

It wants to know from the government why it opted to issue licences based on 2001 valuations and whether any attempts were made by DoT to get a fresh valuation done. In December, CVC had written to DoT, asking if telecom regulator Trai's recommendations had been looked into and whether government has taken Union Cabinet's approval for taking this route.

Similarly, the vigilance panel wants to know why the government did not levy "spectrum enhancement charge" or an entry fee on existing operators, leading to "substantial financial loss to DoT".

CVC also wanted to know the circumstances under which the department allocated higher quantum of spectrum when the licence agreement provides for "cumulative" spectrum of 6.2 MHz.

It also pointed out that contrary to the licence terms, DoT has not raised the spectrum charges from 8Mhz to 10 Mhz, causing "substantial loss". On earlier occasions, the department did raise the charge, the CVC pointed out.

But it is not just the immediate spectrum allocation process which has come under the watchdog's purview. There are queries regarding the allocation of additional spectrum in 2002 as well when DoT raised the availability from 6.2 Mhz to 8 Mhz on achieving five lakh subscribers across every service area.

"India has diverse geographical conditions and population density. This has resulted in higher level of allocation for less deserving service areas. Why did DoT follow a uniform spectrum allocation criterion across the entire country?" the CVC has said in a questionnaire sent to the DoT secretary.

Further, it pointed to the "adhocism" in DoT's suggestion to raise spectrum to 10 Mhz on mere availability, without specifying any allocation criteria.

CVC also wanted to know if the telecom department had initiated steps to find out if additional spectrum had been allocated to mobile service providers.

Source : The Times of India