By IANS,
New Delhi : Amid media reports and allegations from the opposition parties that there were anomalies in the allotment of spectrum to Swan Telecom, Telecommunications Minister A. Raja Monday said the deal was completely “transparent”.
“There was no favouritism in the allocation of spectrum to Swan Telecom,” Raja told reporters during a telecom conference here.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 10th South Asian Telecommunications Regulator’s Council meeting, he said everything was done as per the guidelines of the National Telecom Policy 1999.
Raja said Rothschild Ltd, a private entity engaged in allotting spectrum licences across the globe, was shortlisted by the ministry from four applicants as a e-auction manager.
The company allotted spectrum to Swan Telecom on a first come and first serve basis.
The United Arab Emirates’ telecom giant Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) last month had bought about 45 percent of Swan Telecom for around $900 million.
The deal has valued Swan Telecom at $2 billion.
Swan Telecom, part of the Mumbai-based realtor Dynamix Balwas group, emerged as a frontrunner in the priority list of spectrum in Delhi and Mumbai circles as per the seniority list prepared by the department of telecom.