The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has requested the government to respond to Idea Cellular?s query pertaining to the change in spectrum allocation policy on the first-come, first-serve basis.
On 10 January 2008, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had changed the spectrum allocation policy from the first-come, first-serve basis to a first-pay, first-served basis during A. Raja, former minister of communications and IT?s time . Idea Cellular has opposed that while allocating new licenses, bundled with start up spectrum, DoT had arbitrarily changed the policy by advancing the cut-off date for accepting licence applications.
Meanwhile, the TDSAT also issued notices to Tata Teleservices Limited, Uninor, Etisalat DB , Videocon and Loop Telecom, which obtained spectrum in 2008, under Raja’s regime. Idea Cellular has said the process of granting licences only begins after the submission of applications for letters of intent (LoI) and culminates with the allocation of the start up spectrum.
The operator added that the entire procedure, from submitting the application to obtaining spectrum is a single process and cannot be broken up into separate stages as was sought to be done by the DoT in January, 2008. Idea has alleged that the decision was taken to benefit selected applicants who were lower in the list for obtaining LoIs.
