According to NewsWire18 reports, Government Counsel has said that it will favourably consider Tata's application for spectrum. They will allot spectrum to all eligible participants.
But the counsel has said that there will be no spectrum allotment over 6.2 MHz until the panel report comes out. TDSAT has set January 9 as the next date for hearing on the COAI spectrum petition.
CNBC-TV18 reports that the TDSAT order has come as a really a big blow for GSM operators. The TDSAT hasn’t stayed allocation of spectrum. So, the government has said that it is now going to go ahead and allocate start-up spectrum for all those people who will be eligible for it.
This means that a couple of GSM operators like Aircel and Idea and a few circles eligible for start-up spectrum and have a license for the spectrum, will be getting it. But more importantly, Reliance Communications, which has got the government nod for a start-up spectrum will be getting it ahead of some of the other bigger GSM players like Airtel and Vodafone.
He said that some of the newer applicants like Parsvnath, DLF and Unitech, whose license applications are being vetted by the DoT, they will also get into the queue for spectrum, ahead of Bharti.
The TDSAT has also said that to be allocated spectrum in excess of 6.2 MHz, which is what the big boys want, the government will have to wait for a final report on the DoT committee, which is looking into the issue.
That report is to come in only after a week or 10 days, and the hearing on the TDSAT is will be held on January 9. So, until then, essentially no spectrum can be allocated to the bigger boys, but to all companies who want start-up GSM spectrum, they will be technically eligible for it.
This is definitely a big blow to the big GSM players. GSM operators are currently meeting on this issue. They will now have to seriously evaluate other legal options. Earlier, a PIL was also filed by a telecom NGO in the Supreme Court and now the GSM operators may have to knock on the doors of the Supreme Court.
Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he was aware that spectrum availability can be growth constraint. He added that the country should have a policy that will sustain growth. The PM is concerned about capabilities in telecom manufacturing and research and development. India needs to make use of spectrum in an optimal manner, he said.
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