 "Restrict incumbents from 2G auction participation: Uninor to Trai")
New Delhi: Difference between the incumbent and the new telecom players on the proposed 2G auction have come out in the open with old players wanting to participate in the auction and new ones resisting that move.
In comments to sectoral regulator Trai’s pre-consultation paper on ‘Allocation of Spectrum in 2G band in 22 Service Areas by Auction’, telecom major Vodafone has said that the auction should not be restricted to new companies that got licences in 2008.
“Auction cannot be restricted only to the 2008 new entrants and the 2008 spectrum - in this case demand would equal supply or is less than supply, and the auction would close at the reserve price - effectively an administratively determined price not an auction as required by the Supreme Court,” Vodafone said.
The company cited Supreme Court’s observation with respect to spectrum allocation. “The Supreme Court has observed that there should be a transparent and fair method for making selections so that all eligible persons get a fair opportunity of competition,” Vodafone said.
It further added that the court has also observed that the State and its agencies/instrumentalities must always adopt a rational method for disposal of public property and no attempt should be made to scuttle the claim of worthy applicants.
[caption id=“attachment_215109” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption="‘Auction cannot be restricted only to the 2008 new entrants and the 2008 spectrum ’ Vodafone. AFP"]  [/caption]
New operator Uninor, on the other hand, cited the Court’s judgement and said incumbents should not be allowed to participate in the auction. “The Hon’ble Supreme Court has quashed the licence granted and spectrum allocated to the private respondents. At the same time, SC has directed Trai to make recommendations for ‘grant of licence and allocation of spectrum’ and the GoIto grant fresh licences by auction,” Uninor statement said.
Thus, SC Judgement requires auction of “licences and spectrum” and not of only spectrum, it added. “In view of the above, the SC Judgement supports the proposition that existing players who already hold licence granted to them between 2001 and September 24, 2007 (“Incumbents”) should not be entitled to participate in the auction of licences pursuant to the SC Judgement,” Uninor said.
Similar interpretations were made by Loop Mobile and Sistema Shyam. On issue of base price for spectrum auction, Vodafone did not specifically mention the amount that should be the minimum bidding price but said the reserve prices applied in the 3G/BWA auctions were high, but not unreasonable. “In any case the Reserve Price should not be linked to Trai expert price/3G discovered,” Vodafone said.
Uninor suggested that the base price should be Rs 1,658 crore which was charged to operators for giving them pan-India licence in 2008. Loop mobile suggested to keep the reserve price at Rs 1,650 crore and Sistema Shyam suggested it to be Rs 1,659 crore.
PTI
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