After Trai released its spectrum proposal many different opinions were expressed on the proposal and to make a more accurate decision the Prime Minister has had the case referred to the inter-ministerial panel of 3G spectrum pricing. “It may be desirable to take a decision on the recommendations after ensuring full deliberations on all aspects. Against this background, the Department of Telecom is advised to consider widening the mandate of the EGoM to also include taking a view on the Trai recommendations,” the Prime Minister told the Department of Telecom who has created a new panel to review the proposal.
The PMO predicts probable controversies due to the wide range of opinions which were received on the proposal. Prime Minister, Mr. Manmohan Singh, wants the Department of Telecom wan6ts the 2G spectrum to be handled by Empowered Group of Ministers controlled by Pranab Mukherjee the Finance minister of India.
This move is said to be another attempt to cover the decision by the Communications and IT Minister, Mr. A. Raja who is being investigated for his decision on allocating 2G airwaves.
“In order to favor the private operators and cause financial loss and competitive disadvantage to BSNL, the authority has used non-existent and incorrect information for giving completely impermissible and predetermined biased recommendations against BSNL,” the Department of Technology said.
The Trai’s proposal expects GSM players to shell out a large one time fee for the usage of spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz and has been heavily criticized by Vodafone Essar, BSNL, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices.
