DoT stakes claim over spectrum

New Delhi, Aug 10: In a build-up that would pitch two ministries against each other, the Telecom Ministry has staked its claim over spectrum and said the Defence Ministry has to pay about Rs 5,000 crore for occupying this sparse resource, top ranking sources said.

Sources said that Telecom Minister Azhimuthu Raja will meet External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Defence Minister A K Antony next week and stake the claim for these radio waves that could ease out congestion, bring in quality of services and usher in 3G and 4G technologies in the country's already booming telecom sector.

The telecom ministry is also hinging on the argument that according to the 1885 Indian Telegraph Act the Communication Ministry is the sole owner of the spectrum, sources said.

The meeting next week comes in the backdrop of the Group of Minister, headed by Pranab Mukherjee who will meet this month and look into the ways and means to vacate the unutilised spectrum from defence forces.

The Department said about 60 MHz of spectrum is lying unutilised with the defence ministry and wants the release of these radio waves for mobile use currently under Air Force (42.5 MHz), for which the alternate network will be ready in two months.

The Defence Ministry, on the other hand, has also claimed ownership over the spectrum and wants to have the network ready for its forces, which may take two years.

Recenty, Mr Raja had said that DoT sanctioned Rs 1,600 crore for laying an optical fibre alternative network for the Defence forces so that they would be able to vacate 42.5 Mhz spectrum by September for the 3G spectrum.

Mr Raja said as soon as the spectrum was vacated, the DoT would be fully utilising Rs 30,000 crore for rural telephony and broadband services.

Mr Raja said he had taken up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the Chairman of the Group of Ministers constituted for this purpose.

He said the DoT has ownership of the spectrum and stressed the need to bring it under its domain the resource which had been lying unutilised for the past over 100 years.

UNI