The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in its recent report has stated that various policy and procedural lapses on part of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), led to telecom operators getting an undue advantage of around Rs 240 billion. According to CAG, allowing telecom companies to share spectrum through intra-circle roaming agreements, and without any additional charge, lead to a benefit of Rs 96.04 billion to the operators.
CAG also contended that Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited?s migration to a unified licence from the Internet service provider licence it had obtained earlier at a price discovered in 2001, caused a loss of Rs 33.67 billion to the exchequer. Meanwhile, it has accused DoT of allowing Bharti Airtel to get undue advantage by merging the Tamil Nadu and Chennai circles in 2005. This had led to the Airtel?s licence in Chennai getting a seven-year extension, from November 2014 to September 2021, coinciding with the expiry date of the license in the Tamil Nadu circle.
The CAG has stated that despite the TRAI?s recommendations, DoT did not auction 800 MHz spectrum in 2010. This had resulted in non-realisation of upfront charges amounting to Rs 96.26 billion. Similarly, DoT?s grant of dual-technology licences in October 2007, without implementing TRAI?s suggestion to levy an additional spectrum usage charge, caused an undue benefit of Rs 8.82 billion to telecom operators between 2009 and 2014.
The auditor also found that DoT?s Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring Cell was unable to impose penalties of about Rs 43 billion on telecom operators for violating mobile tower radiation rules.
