Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman and managing director, Bharti airtel has dismissed Ratan Tata, chairman, Tata Group?s allegations that hoarding of spectrum by existing operators such as Bharti airtel and Vodafone Essar constituted the real scam.
Mittal, however is in full agreement with the government?s decision to issue show cause notices to operators facing various charges related to the 2G spectrum scam.
Emphasising airtel?s stand on the issue of hoarding spectrum Mittal commented that the company was clear and the government should be allowed to do their job.
His comments follow those of Marten Pieters, managing director and CEO, Vodafone Essar who had earlier criticized Ratan Tata?s comment on hoarding spectrum saying that no licence conditions had been violated during the allotment of additional spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz, and no spectrum in excess of what was permissible has been granted to any mobile operator.
Anil Sardana, managing director, Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) joined the fight and said that old GSM operators have made substantial profits by hoarding spectrum, which helped them add large numbers of users over several years. He added that TTSL is merely seeking a level-playing field and is waiting for spectrum in Delhi and 39 other locations for close to three years.
Sardana?s comments are in response to Pieter?s viewpoint. Sardana added that such operators needed to refer to and carefully read documents released by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), since these clearly state that some of the incumbents are holding spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz.
TTSL also defended the dual technology licence, saying the company applied only after the government policy was announced and said that dual technology was open to all operators. Sardana believes that the incumbents are doing their best to delay spectrum allotment further, keeping their interest in mind.
