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Our Bureau

New Delhi, May 8 The Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India has raised concern over the proposed changes in the spectrum allocation criteria being considered by a technical committee of the Department of Telecom.

In a letter to DoT, AUSPI said all licence holders should be given 6.2 Mhz based on subscriber base criteria after which it can be given through an auction. The DoT panel, in a draft report, had suggested a cap on the initial start up spectrum at 4.4 Mhz.

AUSPI, which represents the interest of the CDMA operators, also said that existing GSM players should be asked to pay a one-time fee for holding spectrum beyond 6.2 Mhz. The entry fee should be linked to the price realised during the 3G auction expected to be held later this year.

AUSPI has also raised concern at the proposal to impose a uniform spectrum usage charge for all operators irrespective of the quantum of radio waves held. CDMA operators have asked DoT to continue with the existing policy of higher charge on operators with more spectrum.

“The Government should adopt policies that encourage spectrum to be utilised more efficiently. The Government should reward the use of spectrum efficiency enhancement techniques and punish those who do not deploy such techniques,” AUSPI said.

CDMA operators have also opposed the move to amend the merger and acquisition guidelines to allow operators to acquire spectrum from new players.

“The clear objective of this item is to force the new operators to close down their business or to force them to merge with existing operators through distress consolidation. Since the amended merger and acquisition guidelines have been issued recently, they should be put for fair trial before amending these guidelines to facilitate the forced merger of the new licensees with the existing operators,” AUSPI said.

Meanwhile, the spectrum committee held its meeting on Friday but could not arrive at a decision. The committee is likely to propose that the Government should auction all spectrum henceforth and do away with the subscriber base allocation criteria.

More Stories on : Telecommunications | Regulatory Bodies & Rulings | Policy

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