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Vodafone India has requested the withdrawal of the spectrum auction guidelines, terming them as "illegal, discriminatory and benefiting one set of players".
The company, in a letter to the country’s telecom licensor Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has also sought a revision of auction guidelines for 900 and 1800 MHz (GSM bands).
Vodafone India (VIL), the country’s second largest operator by subscribers, has expressed concern regarding the recently announced guidelines for spectrum auction. On January 22, the government had issued guidelines for the second round of spectrum auction.
The GSM service provider has sent a letter to the Telecom Secretary, R. Chandrasekhar, stating that the guidelines are in “contravention of the mutual agreement contract between parties and, therefore, illegal”, adding the “extension of licence should be on mutually agreed terms”.
The auction of 900 MHz spectrum also includes that currently being used by Vodafone in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata circles, and so it cannot be put out for auction.
This also “implies forcible withdrawal of spectrum from the existing service providers”, it alleged.
ARBITRARILY FIXED
VIL also said that the reserve price for 900 MHz and 1800 MHz spectrum were arbitrarily fixed, which were exorbitantly higher than international benchmarks.
The reserve price of 900 MHz is at three times the price of 800 MHz, despite Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s recommending both these bands to be treated at par.
Fixing reserve price of 800 MHZ band (spectrum currently used by CDMA operators) at comparatively low levels benefits a certain set of telecom operators, it alleged.
“The guidelines for auction of 900 MHz were in contravention of licence, which provided for extension on terms that are to be mutually agreed,” Vodafone Resident Director T.V. Ramachandran said.
Ramachandran also said that Vodafone had applied for extension of licences for Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata cirlces, and the request was pending with DoT. The company’s licences are due for renewal in 2014.
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