DoT meet fails to break spectrum deadlock

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GSM operators like Bharti Airtel and CDMA players like Reliance Communications are meeting with the Secretary of the Department of Telecommunication in Delhi. The meetings are part of the ongoing battle for spectrum in the telecom industry, reports Sandeep Gurumrthi, Correspondent CNBC-TV18.

Commenting on spectrum talks, Sunil Mittal said that no peace formula has been proposed by the government yet on the spectrum issue. They added that they had apprised the government of problems pertaining to the spectrum issue.

Big GSM operators i.e. Bharti, Vodafone and Idea met with the Telecom Secretary in the afternoon and walked out of the meeting. They again presented their point of view and no concrete offer has been made by the DoT yet.

Analysts said that one does not get any indication that the stalemate is likely to be broken. It will definitely not be broken in this round of negotiations.

Delhi-based NGO Manav Adhikar has filed a PIL on spectrum in the Supreme Court. The Counsel representing them is Sandeep Parikh. This NGO says that all spectrum should be auctioned going forward. It includes spectrum for new operators, operators who are seeking a technology shift from CDMA to GSM and spectrum for even existing GSM operators.

So, they are saying that spectrum must be auctioned and that the government is standing to lose potentially crores of revenues, on account of non-auctioning of spectrum. It said that spectrum must be auctioned and CDMA players must not be allotted crossover section. The PIL is yet to be admitted. Sources said that a hearing is unlikely before January. This matter is already being contested at the TDSAT . So, there is twist in the legal battle. But as far as negations are concerned, there is no headway.

The battle for spectrum has now taken an interesting legal twist with a Delhi-based NGO filing a PIL, backing the GSM lobby.

 

And this comes even as negotiations between operators and Telecom Secretary DS Mathur remained inconclusive today. There may not be a co-ordinated pricing arrangement between the big three in the GSM industry. But there sure is a co-ordinated timing arrangement. So, as Bharti Airtel's Chairman drove in to the DoT, Vodafone's Asim Ghosh and Idea's Sanjeev Aga were right behind.

 

Sources said that the big GSM players did not really expect much to come of the meeting. So, even as DoT sources remain hopeful of a resolution, the industry is guarded.

 

"We presented our case yet again. There are no deadlines set," said Sunil Mittal, CMD, Bharti Airtel.

 

So, it is now looking increasingly imminent that the battle for spectrum will be resolved in the SC. A Delhi-based NGO "Manav Adhikar" has filed a PIL against DoT in the Supreme Court.

 

The counsel for the NGO Sameer Parekh told CNBC-TV18 that the NGO wants spectrum to be auctioned and is against the government's move to allow crossover allocation of spectrum. As an interim measure, the PIL says no LOI's should be awarded till the matter is heard. It has also called for a Group of Ministers to examine the issue.

 

That makes it very obvious who the NGO is backing. We learn the PIL is likely to get admitted in the next couple of days. The case is likely to be heard only in January. The case is being heard at the TDSAT, which has paused allocation of any spectrum till such time that DoT's Review Committee finalises its report.