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‘I called the bluff on the spectrum story’

— Photo: R.V. Moorthy

A. Raja… We are the custodian of spectrum as per the Telegraph Act.

In the 15 months he has been Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, A. Raja has ushered in an era of transparency in the functioning of his Ministry. He has consciously maintained a low profile. He has travelled far and wide to invite investments in appropriate technologies. He has pushed for global participation in all major works and tenders. He has insisted that e-auction was the way forward. He has worked to level the playing field for all telecom players. He is clear that despite the big progress made in India over the past few years in developing IT infrastructure, communication-related services and setting up institutes of excellence, a lot more needs to be done.

When I assumed charge, my leader Kalaignar [M.Karunanidhi, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister] set the broad guidelines for me to adhere to. He wanted Information Technology to be used to make a difference in the lives of the poor. For instance, he wanted the farmer to get a better price for his or her produce by choosing the right markets using the Internet. He wanted me to encourage large firms and multinationals to look at rural and backward areas.

We are well on track on all these fronts. With the cooperation of State governments, Internet penetration is slowly spreading to rural areas. As a follow up of the semi-conductor policy, we have received 12 proposals [to set up large projects] amounting to a total investment of Rs.92,915.38 crore. My department has set up a panel of technical experts to evaluate the proposals.

The time that I have spent in the Ministry is relatively very short. But I have had excellent cooperation and hence have been able to take forward a series of proposals and policies.

I think you are referring to 2 G...

2G spectrum was lying unutilised due to poor coordination in the Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing. Spectrum was coordinated after several rounds of painstaking discussions with the officers of the WPC wing, resulting in the availability of scarce 2G spectrum for allotment to GSM operators. Accordingly, initial spectrum to Aircel, Dishnet, Idea, and Essar was allotted in various circles. In addition to this, initial start-up spectrum was allotted to Reliance Communications under ‘dual technology.’ The government also allotted initial start-up spectrum to about four to five new operators in five circles — Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, and Kerala. Spectrum availability in the remaining circles is also being coordinated and will be allotted to new and existing operators. At the same time, discussions are being held with the Defence Ministry for vacating a part of the spectrum used by them. Once this is done, there will be no shortage of spectrum.

I called the bluff on the spectrum story: it was a myth that spectrum was not available. We are the custodian of spectrum as per the Telegraph Act. It is wrong to say that there is no spectrum.

I am happy with at least four other contributions too. Actually there are more but these come to mind immediately. One, now everything that happens in my Ministry is done in a transparent manner. To the extent possible, we publish our affairs on the Internet and I am keen that we create systems to carry forward this process. Secondly, once the 3G auction is complete, we will have contributed a huge amount to the national exchequer. I think we will be the largest profit centre of the Union Government. Thirdly, I will ensure that STD tariffs will come down even more significantly. I think we are not far away from a day when we will have a phone call at 30 paise! And fourthly, see the manner in which we have turned around post offices and made them adapt to the present. I can speak an entire day on this, and the manner in which we have methodically leveraged the network of India Post.

This is not really true. The Central and State governments and the private sector have contributed to the spread of IT across the country. The Department of Information Technology (DIT) has taken various steps to promote IT education with a long-term vision to educate and empower every citizen through information and knowledge. In the non-formal sector, DOEACC and C-DAC are providing IT education and skill development courses. The development of Indian language technologies is also one of the key development initiatives. The DIT also supports collaborative learning by networking educational institutes in the country through the Education and Research Network (ERNET). In order to provide educational and other services and access through the Internet, the government has embarked on a National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) to make available all government services to citizens through the Common Service Centre. Under the plan, the Government of India will establish 1,00,000 village Internet kiosks or Common Service Centres (CSCs) that will provide access to 6,00,000 villages. Access to content is designed as multi-fold access, and the service basket includes government services, private sector services, and services related to education and health.

However, there are certain areas that need attention. PC penetration needs to be increased from its present level of 11 PCs per 1,000 people. Increased PC penetration will also go a long way in increasing use of Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) by educational institutes. Training teachers in the use of ICT is another important area that must be addressed. The availability of quality content especially in Indian languages is one such area. There is also a need to put efforts to make our students learn cyber hygiene. Making them security conscious from a young age will go a long way in spreading the right kind of eco-system in education.

The government, through the National Knowledge Commission, is setting up a high-speed digital broadband network with adequate capabilities and access speed to encourage the sharing of resources and collaborative research. The primary objective of the proposed integrated National Knowledge Network is to provide gigabit broadband connectivity to all institutions of higher learning and research in the country.

I have explained this very clearly. The Finance Ministry is part of all decisions that have been taken. I find it strange that the Ministry has been raising objections at each step of the auction [of 3G spectrum]. The various policy issues in terms of the recommendations of TRAI and otherwise are considered and finalised by DoT in consultation with the Member (Finance) who is the representative of the Finance Ministry. Further consultations with the Finance Ministry are routinely held by calling a meeting of the Full Commission in which the Finance Ministry is represented too. Not a single Cabinet ruling has been violated. Whatever we have done so far is in line with the decision of the Cabinet relating to spectrum pricing that was laid down in 2003 itself.

I do not have any differences with them. The Finance Ministry will be fully involved in the process [of auction]. I think it is universally agreed that open, transparent, and global auction is the best way to arrive at the price. The guidelines for 3G and BWA services were initially announced on November 12, 2007, based on the recommendations of TRAI and the decision of the Telecom Commission and my approval. This is the usual practice on all recommendations received from TRAI. It is unusual to make a separate reference to the Finance Ministry on each issue. Also, we have never received any objection from the Ministry on this.

Now the thing that has to be kept in mind is that we doubled the reserve price recommended by TRAI and have taken TRAI’s concurrence for this. But this is not the end or final word on price. As I told you earlier, the price of the spectrum has to be discovered through a process.

To oversee all these, there is an inter-Ministerial committee. The Finance Ministry has its representative in this committee. The Member (Finance) of the Telecom Commission is the chairman of the committee. Any concern of the Finance Ministry can be considered in this forum and action taken in accordance with the decision of the committee.

The DoT and the Ministry have drawn up the guidelines after wide-ranging consultations. We are still open to more discussions and there is a provision for revision as and when necessary. But let it be clarified that we cannot keep changing policies because one company or another does not like one aspect of the policy. We are ready to consider minor changes because our interest is to ensure that there is healthy competition and also that we remain abreast of the most modern technologies.

There will be no delay in the auction process.

According to the schedule we have drawn up, it will be in October. Business sentiment right now is not very good. Six months ago, we were very optimistic and were even talking about figures in excess of Rs.30,000 crore. But still we hope to garner a minimum of Rs.25,000 crore from the auction. It can be higher.

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