Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular to move TDSAT to stall 3G auctions

Via The Financial Express | Feb 16, 2015

Mobile operators
Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular
are likely to m
ove the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) as early as t
his week, urging postponement of the 3G auctions till issues relating to disturb
ances in the band are not resolved by the department of telecommunications (DoT)
. The three operators could either move the telecom tribunal jointly or each on
their own, industry sources aware of the developments said. Operators are peeved
that the DoT has moved ahead to auction 5 MHz spectrum in the 3G band of 2100 M
Hz across 17 circles next month without resolving the issue of disturbances eman
ating from Pakistan in the border circles of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Rajastha
n and Gujarat. They want DoT to first change their bands with a fresh 3G spectru
m and auction the balance as it had promised. The disturbances in the border cir
cles result in a poor quality of service in the 3G band. The problem lies with t
he PCS band in 1900 MHz, used by Pakistan, whose downlink moves across the borde
r and disturbs the uplink in the 2100 MHz band used by Indian operators. As ther
e was no spectrum at the time of the 3G auctions in 2010, the DoT had promised t
he operators it would change the bands for operators once it got fresh spectrum.
However, despite having accessed 5 MHz in the 2100 MHz band across 17 circles an
d expected to receive another 15 MHz from the defence ministry through a swap pr
oposal, the DoT is yet to change the bands; instead is moving ahead with the auc
tions. It s not surprising that operators are being extra cautious this time aroun
d. That s because despite assuring them, at the time of the 2010 auctions, that in
tra-circle roaming for 3G spectrum would be permitted, the government went back
on its word. It even sent them notices penalising them for entering into such pa
cts. The matter is still under litigation. The 5 MHz on auction next month is not
in these border circles but the 15 MHz, which comes via the swap, can resolve o
ur problem. The DoT should first make it clear in writing that it will resolve o
ur issues when that spectrum is made available to it and then proceed with the a
uction of the 3G spectrum, an industry official said. This time the industry wants
proper clarification on such pending issues. If the DoT does not change the ban
ds or else the industry has no choice but to move the TDSAT. We are being forced
to go for litigation, industry executives said.
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