NEW DELHI:
overnment has moved Supreme Court seeking clarification on assigning spectrum for specific purposes — such as satellite communication, for use by defence forces and PSUs, and for Metro or railway operations — instead of auctions, mandated by the apex court in 2012 following the 2G scam.
The petition, which was filed last Dec, came up for hearing on Monday.In late Dec, Parliament had passed the new telecom law, which provides for 19 exemptions, including those for which govt had moved SC.
Despite the 2012 ruling, govt was already allocating spectrum for specific requirements of national security and public infrastructure, administratively. The petition and the new law also included spectrum for space communication within the ambit of administrative allocation.
In light of the SC verdict in the spectrum case, the administrative assignments have come with the rider that they will “not be treated as final, but purely interim and provisional; subject to govt’s final decision on pricing and policy in the matter”, the petition said.
Govt is emphatic that it will stick to the auction route when it comes to commercial use such as mobile communication to offer 2G, 4G or 5G services. “We are already following an auction process for spectrum for mobile services and will continue to follow it. Which is what the law is,” communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Tuesday evening as he sought to dispel any impression of a reversal in govt policy.
The department of telecom (DoT) is working on the next round of auction for 5G and other services in June, sources said.
There are certain resources which cannot be auctioned, like airwaves for satellite communication and backhaul spectrum. “The frequency is reusable and cannot be sold exclusively to any single player,” said a source.
According to an agency report on Monday, attorney general R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, mentioned an interim application before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala. While seeking urgent listing of the application, the top law officer told the bench that the plea sought modification of the 2012 verdict as the Centre wanted to grant 2G spectrum licences in some cases.
Appearing for Centre for Public Interest Litigation, advocate Prashant Bhushan opposed the application and said the issue was settled by the apex court that auction was the only mode for granting licences for natural resources like spectrum.
In its 15-page petition, govt said it has been auctioning spectrum from time to time but argued that assignment of airwaves was required for “non-commercial use for discharge of sovereign and public interest functions, such as security, safety, disaster preparedness”. This, it argued, was required due to the nature of spectrum or international practices as auctions were not “technically or economically preferred or optimal”.
The court did not take into account the need for carveouts in certain cases, prompting the Centre to assign spectrum for specific use at administratively determined prices, the petition said.