By IANS
New Delhi : As the imbroglio over how the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) allocates the much-needed spectrum to telecom operators continues, both the DoT and the telecom tribunal have postponed a decision on the matter till Nov 13 at least.
Communications and IT Minister A. Raja said DoT would come up with specific guidelines regarding the allocation of spectrum only after Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC), the technical arm of DoT, comes up with a proper framework.
Last week, DoT approved the industry regulator’s decision that subscriber-linked criterion would be the basis for frequency allocation. However, DoT had asked TEC to “further” study the proposal. The TEC is expected to give its report on Nov 13, Raja said.
On top of that, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has Wednesday halted its decision on spectrum allocation and postponed it till Nov 12.
TDSAT said the decision taken by DoT to allow CDMA operators to rollout GSM mobile phones services was done in “undue haste and the process was flawed”, according to industry sources.
On Tuesday, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), an industry body of GSM mobile operators, filed a petition at TDSAT challenging the government’s move that allows CDMA players to enter the GSM segment.
“The DoT made unseemly haste when such allotments were not permissible and thus, such applications are ipso facto illegal,” the petition said.