Kapil Sibal, Minister of Communications and IT has said that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) plans to begin the process of assessing the actual revenue loss caused by the 2G scam. In so far, the figure has been pegged at Rs 1.7 trillion, which, Sibal says, is speculative.
Moreover, Sibal quoted the example of the very first licence auction in the mid-nineties which ended badly, as the operators made high price bids that were not sustainable in the then-growing Indian telecom market.
This forced the then government to announce a relief package in 1999 under its New Telecom Policy, following which the licence regime was switched over to a revenue-sharing model instead of a fixed fee.
Meanwhile, Sibal has already initiated action against new operators who reportedly suppressed information to get licences or are yet to start services despite getting spectrum. Sibal has said that if such companies have furnished false information, their licences will be cancelled. The DoT will be sending showcause notices to nearly half a dozen firms holding licences for about 85 circle areas to ascertain the reason for non-fulfillment of the terms and conditions on which they were granted spectrum.
Also, the government is hopeful of releasing additional spectrum for the telecom sector shortly. Commenting on this, Sibal stated that this is vital, especially keeping in mind that India had amongst the lowest quantum of spectrum in the world.
