Spectrum allocation issue not the job of only one ministry:AUSPI

New Delhi, Oct 13 (UNI) The issue of quick availability of the much-awaited 3G spectrum the from defence forces for mobile providers in India, can be resolved only through the effort of various ministries, and cannot be restricted to just one ministry, AUSPI Secretary General S C Khanna said today.

''The availability of the most important raw material for advanced mobile technology has to be an inter-ministerial effort by the Defence, Law and Telecom ministries and, is not the job of just one ministry. It is high time the government sit together and sort out this problem,'' Mr Khanna said at the CII event -- 'Connecting the next Billion.' Spectrum is a range of electromagnetic radio frequencies used in transmission of voice, data and television, and mobile operators in India are still awaiting the nod of the government for the adequate allocation (45 MHZ) of the scarce resource, presently used by the defence forces of the country.

Mr Khanna also attributed high tax rates on the 3G handsets as a major hassle faced in the telecom sector in India.

''In comparison to Sri Lanka which pays 2 per cent tax and Pakistan, which has a 8-9 per cent tax rate, India's 26 per cent is high. Besides, the revenue share should also be brought down from 10 per cent to 6 per cent,'' he added.

While ruing the difficulties faced by mobile users and operators in India, in interconnection, Mr Khanna lauded the infrastructure project launched recently. ''This will majorly cut down the costs.

I don't think there will be any issue getting investment into India,'' he said.

The targeted 500 million subscribers by 2010 in India and the 800 million customers by the end of the 11th five year plan in 2012, can be achieved only by implementing next generation managed networks according to Department of Telecom TEC DDG R N Padukone said.

''The key issue here is whether any customer in the country can access services from another operator. If that does not happen, there will be terrible constraints in getting the true benefits from these kind of advanced technologies,'' he added.

UNI RA PV BS1708