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'When I Assumed Charge, I Was Told There Was No Spectrum'

Despite the barrage of accusations of foul play, Union telecom minister is confident he has stuck to the rules.

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'When I Assumed Charge, I Was Told There Was No Spectrum'
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Despite the barrage of accusations of foul play, Union telecom minister A. Raja is confident he has stuck to the rules. Excerpts from an exclusive interview:

Why was the first-come-first-served route taken?

TRAI never suggested auctions for 2G spectrum. Its recommendation is categorical: 2G band need not be auctioned as there will be no level playing field.

Why was the 2001 price band of Rs 1,651 crore not revised?

TRAI has said categorically that there shouldn’t be any barrier for new entrants. The direction given to us by TRAI is not to change the entry fee.

The TRAI chairman has said there’s a need to revisit the 2001 price band.

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Maybe he has said that as a person, but as a statutory body, he has to give a recommendation, and as a minister, I have to receive it. How can the government take any personal opinion?

Did the previous regimes in your ministry leave room for confusion?

I can’t say that provisions were not followed. But I can say that the provisions were stringently followed only by me. My predecessors used the rules within the existing operators. But when you use them on new operators, there will be competition. Definitely, existing operators may not be happy. When I assumed charge, I was told that there was no spectrum in 2G and 3G. But I discussed the issue with Sam Pitroda. He said it is a mockery and a little bit of safe play. Spectrum was available. I found and allotted more than 463 MHz in 2G. Huge spectrum is available in most of the circles. Why others did not pay attention to this, either willfully or inadvertently, I don’t know.

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There have been allegations of a loss to the exchequer of Rs 60,000 crore.

These projections have been made by vested interests through journalists and political parties, saying that Raja invented the first-come-first-served route and that there is confusion in the ministry. This is totally wrong.

Any problem with auctions?

When you are putting everything under one umbrella, it may not be possible to auction the licence.

You have suggested a lock-in period for stake sales.

I consulted the PM and the finance minister. The finance minister categorically said that Swan and Unitech did not sell their share for outright buy. It was a dilution of shares for expansion of business and well within corporate laws. However, trading the licence, spectrum or selling equity stake must be curtailed. The telecom commission will take a decision. Thereafter, if necessary, it will go to TRAI.

You have supported the low entry fee for new players.

There is an undeclared cartel. We have a tariff system for transport and electricity but not for telecom. So we wanted to bring more competition to break the so-called cartels.

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