Rejecting the demand of the cellular operators, he said in a letter to the Prime Minister that since some frequency had been given free of charge to all the earlier players, it would be “unfair, discriminatory, arbitrary and capricious” to auction spectrum to new applicants, “as it will not give them a level playing field.”
Conditions
He said the CDMA operators would allot spectrum only if the requirement of GSM players was fulfilled and that there was enough scope for the allotment to a few new operators even after meeting the requirements of existing operators and licensees.
“Waiting for spectrum for long after getting licence is not unknown to the industry and even at present, Aircel, Idea, Vodafone and Dishnet are waiting for initial spectrum in some circles since December 2006,” he said in the letter written on Friday.
Alleging that the COAI itself was divided though it had approached the TDSAT on the issue of usage of dual technology and spectrum allocation, he said, “Operators have openly admitted that the COAI had misled them, the media and the public in general.”
He said operators like Aircel and Spice Telecom had disassociated from COAI’s petition after getting clarification from him. “I would like to inform that there was, and is, no single deviation or departure in the rules and the procedures contemplated in all the decisions taken by my ministry,” he said, rejecting the COAI’s allegations.
The Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) report on spectrum allocation has not been challenged by anyone including the COAI as it was done on a “scientific basis”, he said, adding that “full transparency” would be maintained in future also.