The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has said it is looking to evolve a mechanism to keep an eye on the efficiency of spectrum usage, according to news reports. This comes after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said it wants to undertake an audit of the total spectrum available in India and its utilisation.
Currently, there is no policy to check the utilisation of allocated spectrum, and no law to take it away from companies that are not using it optimally.
It is believed that the DoT feels that a monitoring mechanism would force telecom operators to utilise the spectrum efficiently?increasing their, as well as the government?s, revenue.
The CAG has said it wants to undertake a comprehensive audit of total spectrum available in the country as well as its strategic and commercial use. Thus, the CAG has written to DoT seeking details of the total spectrum available, current use for strategic and commercial purposes, how much has been allocated to private telecom operators from 2000 onwards and at what value.
It is believed that the spectrum monitoring mechanism will keep a watch over not just telecom and broadcast firms but the government?s space department as well. The DoT hopes to eventually move to a commercial regulation for spectrum.
