Charges were traded thick and fast; enquiries and investigations have been carried out by more than one agency. As a result, one former minister, one political heavyweight, and a handful of businessmen, bureaucrats and executives are in jail.
'Kiran ma'am, Aamir sir and my lovely audience have given us wings to fly internationally.'
Eyeing a record high spectrum sale of Rs 1 lakh crore, the government on Wednesday fixed the base price for 3G auction at Rs 3,705 crore per mega hertz - which itself can fetch over Rs 17,000 crore (Rs 170 billion) from this band.
Communications Minister A Raja, who has been facing a lot of flak from GSM-based mobile firms on new spectrum allocation norms, received support from an unlikely quarter on Tuesday -- the former head of GSM lobby and fellow M P Rajeev Chandrasekhar. Once a strong advocate of auctioning spectrum, Chandrasekhar extended his support to the policy of allocating spectrum to all on equitable basis.
Tata Teleservices Ltd has decided to pull out of the upcoming 2G spectrum auction, leaving no takers for spectrum in the CDMA 800-MHz band. This will deprive the government of around Rs 18,300 crore.
The Department of Telecom has postponed the next spectrum auction to February 3 from January 23 amid pending issues, including spectrum usage charges, and a demand from operators seeking more time.
What stood out in his 15-year journey as a member of the political executive at the Centre was his glowing record as India's most successful and effective finance minister. Both as prime minister and finance minister, he understood the importance of gradualism, except when the economy or the polity was in a crisis.
Fast, furious and fashionable, it's all there on OTT this week. Here's the action-packed menu.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the government was working on releasing additional spectrum for commercial use by telecom operators to facilitate the sector's expansion.\n
Reliance Jio bought spectrum in the 1800 MHz band last February.
The regulator added that a split auction of 2100 MHz, used for 3G services, will 'artificially increase the market price of 2100 Mz in February 2015 (auction) because of the severe supply constraint'.
De-centralised execution should drive the operational concept and support military strategy, under a unified command architecture. Enablers and technology need to be positioned first for such an activity to be undertaken, recommends Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd).
Akhilesh's fielding candidates from a broad spectrum of castes, not just Yadavs, and with the BJP losing in several seats in Purvanchal, suggests that smaller OBC communities shifted from the BJP to the SP in the region.
"To use this spectrum, BSNL has gone for a franchise model on a revenue-sharing basis. As per the provision of expression of interest and agreement signed with the franchisee companies, they are required to pay amortised value of spectrum/ cost to BSNL on monthly basis," Minister of State for IT & Telecom Gurudas Kamat said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
DoT committee rejects most Trai suggestions for freeing airwaves for sale.
Successful bidders will have to pay 25 per cent of the amount upfront for sub 1 GHz, and 50 per cent upfront for higher frequency bands.
'Unfortunately, most of our students use AI to replace knowledge when they should be using the AI tools to enhance their knowledge.' 'I am sorry to say, even those students who have opted to study AI have no idea what AI is.'
The Speaker is the final authority to take a call on cases of defection. Although this may not be an immediate concern now, but its occurrence in the future cannot be ruled out considering the volatile nature of politics, points out Rup Narayan Das.
Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying he is appalled and dismayed at the recommendations of Trai.
Public and private sector GSM operators in the country have demanded an additional 13.2 MHz of spectrum
The big beneficiaries of this move will be the big three -- Bharti, Vodafone and Idea.
In contrast to the stand by GSM operators, CDMA players like RCom and Tatas hailed telecom regulator TRAI for its "balanced, progressive and transparent" spectrum proposals.
Rajya Sabha was briefly adjourned on Tuesday following an uproar by AIADMK over Telecom Minister A Raja's role in Second Generation or 2G spectrum allocation that allegedly led to heavy loss of revenue to the government.
A liberalised spectrum allows operators to use any technology to deliver services like 3G and 4G.
Call drops may end as govt allows telecom spectrum trading
Over the years, India has enjoyed bipartisan support in the US and this asset must be kept intact and nurtured through across the board political and civil society engagement, suggests former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The Cabinet in January 2015, resolved the spectrum tussle between DoT and the Defence by approving a harmonisation plan.
'The top 10 per cent of the population should adopt and handhold the bottom 20 per cent of the population as a social responsibility.'
Only the Supreme Court can rectify spectrum management in line with other resources, but all stakeholders can contribute, writes Shyam Ponappa.
The regulator has suggested that all spectrum will be auctioned as opposed to the current policy of bundling it with a 2G licence. A beginning has been made with the auctioning of spectrum for 3G services, which is due later this year. Trai has also suggested that licences for any telecom service should be auctioned as opposed to the current policy, where it is given on a first-come-first-served basis. The new policy is expected to be ready by the end of December this year.
The CAG has suggested canceling nationwide broadband spectrum allocated to Infotel Broadband Services, now a Reliance Industries company, for allegedly rigging the auction and violating rules.
The second round of spectrum auction will begin in March after the Cabinet decides on reducing reserve price of 800 MHz band, used for offering CDMA-based mobile services.
Bharti Airtel on slammed telecom regulator TRAI's recommendations on spectrum fee, saying they are retrograde and arbitrary.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has prepared an internal note that suggests reversing spectrum allocation norms by giving new applicants for telecom licences preference in spectrum due to be released by the defence forces early next year.
The operator was directed to pay the spectrum charges based on the combined GSM and CDMA spectrum allocated, which otherwise were to be charged separately, it argued.
Idea may have to shell out Rs 4,500 crore in cash
Spectrum refers to the radio frequencies that enable wireless communication. It has been the source of a bitter dispute between mobile operators of the rival GSM and CDMA technologies. In its petition, Tata Teleservices has also demanded immediate allocation of spectrum that is under the contractual obligation in areas in which it has fulfilled its subscriber base criterion.
Solicitor General of India Goolam Vahanvati has said no further allotment of spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz should be made to telecom operators till the report of the committee on its pricing and allocation is received.If the opinion is acted upon, it would affect companies like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance Communications, Idea Cellular and Aircel, which have applied for extra spectrum in other circles.
Though Indians were no strangers to scams, spectrum loss was beyond their wildest imagination.
