2G case: Limit spectrum auction to new players, Norway govt asks Pranab

Norway has asked Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to address the concerns of its telecom company, Telenor, in the auction of spectrum.

 

Norway’s Telenor, whose telecom license was among the 122 cancelled by the Supreme Court earlier this year, wants incumbents like Airtel and Vodafone to be kept out of the proposed auction of the freed spectrum so that only newcomers get the scarce airwaves.

 

Norwegian Minister for Trade and Industry Trond Giske has forwarded a brief note “describing the concerns of the Norwegian government” on the methodology and the base price set by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for the auction of spectrum.

 

“I remain hopeful that Indian authorities will find a solution that enables newcomers such as Telenor to continue its operations in India as an important partner in the further development of India’s telecommunication sector,” he wrote on May 12 to Mr. Mukherjee.

 … Continue reading

Rs 250 crore transfer not linked to 2G: Unitech

NEW DELHI: Responding to a report, “CBI on trail of Rs 250 crore sent by Unitech to Isle of Man” published on May 18, Unitech Ltd has stated that it has “always cooperated and continues to cooperate with the CBI in its investigation and has provided all the relevant materials asked for, in connection with the transfer of Rs 250 crore, which discounts the possibility of any quid pro quo” in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.

It has also pointed out that the investigation pertaining to the transfer of Rs 250 crore by the Unitech Group to the Isle to Man, as an investment, unconnected with the 2G case, is still underway and the CBI has not yet come to a final determination in connection with the matter.

The company has also said that contrary to the report stating that the “Unitech Ltd board had made no resolution for transferring… Continue reading

Out on bail

“Raja has become a symbol of corruption.”

The question of granting bail to an accused in a case is fairly simple in law but is often difficult and complicated in practice, especially in India. The norm is that bail is the rule and jail is the exception. But former Union telecom minister A Raja, accused of serious charges in the 2G spectrum allotment case, had to spend an exceptionally long period of 15 months in jail before he was granted bail by a CBI special court. He was the last accused to be released on bail in the case. It is a moot point whether investigations should take so long as to deny a person his rightful freedom for very long period. The processes of investigation and the procedures of the court are so long and time-consuming that the basic axioms of justice are sometimes observed only in violation. This… Continue reading

JPC term extended till end of winter session

New Delhi, May 17 (IBNS): The Lok Sabha on Thursday extended the term of the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) investigating the 2G spectrum scandal till the end of the Winter Session to present its report.

The Lok Sabha adopted the motion moved by the committee chief P.C. Chacko.

The term of the committee was scheduled to end on the penultimate day of the Budget Session.

The JPC consists of nearly 30 lawmakers from different parties and is headed by Chacko of the Congress.

It was formed in 2011 to look into the policy prescriptions connected to the telecom sector between 1998 to 2009.

Supposedly masterminded by ex-telecom minister A Raja, the 2G scandal is so named because of the type of spectrum involved, and could have caused as much as Rs 1.76 lakh crore in losses to the exchequer according to the government’s auditor CAG.

Source: http://www.indiablooms.com/NewsDetailsPage/2012/newsDetails170512y.php

‘TRAI creating artificial scarcity of spectrum’

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Rising costs are making tariff hike inevitable. In a conversation with Muntazir Abbas of CyberMedia, Cellular Operators Association of India director general R.S. Mathews says spectrum refarming will have an adverse impact on the nation’s competitiveness.

“On one hand we are trying to compete with the world in terms of both physical and virtual infrastructure, such policies will definitely pull us down and act as a growth deterrent for virtual infrastructure,” he says.
Excerpts

CIOL: With tariff hike indication, are not the operators/industry creating pressure tactics on the government for leniency in 2G spectrum auction?

Mathews: Firstly, independent financial analysts, other industry bodies like CII, banks, research firms like Analysys Mason, audit and consulting firms such as PwC, E&Y, etc. have all opined that the reserve prices are too high and will be ruinous for the industry. So, this is not an opinion held only by the… Continue reading

Lok Sabha nod for 2G panel’s extension

New Delhi, May 17 — The Lok Sabha Thursday agreed to extend the term of the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) probing the 2G spectrum issue till the end of the winter session in December this year.

This is the second extension being granted to the committee.

A motion for the purpose, moved by the panel’s chairman P.C. Chacko, a Congress MP, was passed by the house by a voice vote.

This extension gives the committee time to submit its report on its probe in the spectrum allocation affairs by the end of the Lok Sabha sitting during the winter session.

The committee’s term was to end on the last day of the budget session on May 22.

The first extension to the panel was given in September last.

The panel consists of 20 Lok Sabha MPs and 10 Rajya Sabha MPs. It was formed on March 4 2011 to probe… Continue reading

Artificial scarcity of Spectrum

In this age of digital technologies and instant communication, we clearly need proactive policy that is innovative and forward-looking to boost access and incentivise telecom players to provide a range of services in the 2G, 3G, 4G and subsequent generational vintages.

Yet, the recent recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on auction of spectrum seek essentially to jack up distortions in mobile telephony with a host of rigidities, hike upfront costs for service providers and, worse, propose to drastically limit the number of such players as well.

Instead of myopia in the domain of policy formulation, the regulator surely ought to be suggesting ways to boost spectral efficiency with spectrum-sharing, for instance.

Now, in its suggestions on spectral policy following the Supreme Court’s ruling in February cancelling all 122 telecom licences granted lately under former telecom minister Andimuthu Raja’s watch, Trai has maintained that the available radio… Continue reading

Telcos panting over Trai’s proposal to hike 2G spectrum charges

The telecom regulator’s proposal to hike 2G spectrum charges have put telecom firms in a quandary as they will have to scramble to raise funds. Most telcos are grappling with shortage of funds after being awarded spectrum during the 3G allocation.

In April, Trai had proposed a reserve price of Rs.3,622 crore for auction of 2G spectrum (1,800 Mhz) much higher than the Rs.1,657 crore operators paid at the time of the previous allocation. The spectrum price strangely is also much higher than the reserve price for 3G spectrum of Rs.3,500 crore. It had also proposed to price 900 Mhz spectrum radio waves that would be refarmed at Rs.7,500 crore for each unit across every circle.

“This will definitely impact the bottom lines of telecos as when the auction happens. They will have to raise debt at high interest rates to bid for the spectrum. Operators like Airtel and Vodafone… Continue reading

Trai may reconsider 2G spectrum auction recommendations

New Delhi: The telecom regulator may be inclined to reconsider its recommendations on spectrum auction if the government asks it to do so, said a senior official aware of the developments.

The future course of action of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, that got former commerce secretary Rahul Khullar as its new chairman this week, would depend on the government’s decision and its possible feedback. “Whether or not it takes a fresh look at the earlier proposals would depend on what the Centre has to say,” the official added.

The course of events is likely to be primarily decided by the Telecom Commission, the highest decision-making body of the communications ministry, which is scheduled to meet on May 24 to take a view on these proposals.

Telecom secretary R Chandrasekhar had earlier this week said that the regulator’s proposals would have to be carefully studied and analysed before drawing… Continue reading

2G scam: JPC gets another extension, can submit report by end of winter session

New Delhi, May 17:

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probing the 2G spectrum scam has now got more time to submit its report. This is because Lok Sabha today extended the term of this Parliamentary panel to the last date of the winter session.

Mr P.C. Chacko, who heads the JPC, moved the motion, which was adopted by the Lower House on Thursday.

This is the second extension of term for the committee, which consists of 20 members from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. The JPC was constituted on March 4 last year to look into the entire gamut of policy prescriptions in the telecom sector from 1998 to 2009.

The panel was to originally submit its report by the end of the monsoon session last year. In September 2011, the Lok Sabha extended the JPC term to the end of this year’s budget session.

With… Continue reading

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