No free spectrum to armed forces: Pitroda

Jaipur, Jan 12 (UNI) The father of the telecom revolution in India Sam Pitroda called for stopping the 'free' spectrum allocated to police and the armed forces.

Sam Pitroda currently the chairman of the National Knowledge Commission, while talking to newspersons said ''in a country of over one billion people, the number of cell phones is likely to cross 700 million shortly, we have to think of this fact while allocating spectrum''.

He said ''there is the need to use the spectrum efficiently and this requires a reevaluation of the policy of prevailing policy of allocation of the spectrum.'' Presently the armed forces and the police have been allocated spectrum freely and it is efficiently utilised, Mr Pitroda said adding either the armed forces must be made to pay for the spectrum allocated or part with the unutilised spectrum to other users.

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