GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
RAJYASABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2334
TO BE ANSWERED ON 10th DECEMBER, 2009
Capping on the Number of Service Providers

2334. SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:
(a) the details of reference, if any, made by Government to TRAI with regards to capping on the number of service providers based on limitation of spectrum, citing Telecom Disputes 'Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) judgment dated 31 March, 2009;
(b)     whether Government is seeking a cap on number of Unified Access Service (VAS) licenses due to
shortage of spectrum;
(e)     whether Government has revealed publicly how much spectrum is available in each circle before
making such a reference; and
(d)     whether Government proposes to change its policy to overcome the judicial decision in S. Tel
matter of July 2009 that has held the cutoff date 25 September, 2007 illegal?

,

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI GURUDAS KAMAT)

(a) & (b) Hon'ble TDSAT (Telecom Dispute Settlement & Appellate Tribunal), in para 116 of its judgment dated 31.3.2009, in Petition No. 286 of 2007 in the matter of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAJ) & Others Vs. Union of India & Others, has observed that DoT (Department of Telecom) would be well advised to review the policy of no capping keeping in view the various relevant parameters and take an appropriate decision. In view of above observation of Hon'ble TDSAT and scarcity of spectrum, on 22.07.2009, Government has sought recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the policy of no capping on the number of Access Service providers in each service area in terms of pending applications.
(c) Separately, on 7th July 2009, Government has sought the recommendations of TRAI on the recommendations/comments of the Report dated 13.05.2009 of the Committee of Do'I''on 'Allocation of Access {GSM (Global System for Mobile communications)/CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access)} Spectrum and Pricing'. The Annexure A3-1 of the Report dated 13.05.2009 of the Committee, contains the availability of spectrum in each service area as on 3004.2009. Further, the Chapter 1 of the Consultation Paper of TRAI issued on 16.10.2009 on "Overall Spectrum Management and review of license terms and conditions", contains the availability of spectrum in various bands. Copy of the above said Report of the Committee & Consultation Paper of TRAI is available in public domain at the website of TRAI
(d) On 03.12.2009, Government had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) NO. 33406 of 2009 before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India against the judgment dated 24.11.2009 of the Division Bench of Hon'ble High Court of Delhi in LPA No. 388 of 2009 in the matter of Union of India Vs. Tel Ltd.