Govt to go ahead with administrative allocation for satellite broadband
Telecom regulator to revive talks on spectrum allocation “The courts had to be informed and the application has been disposed of. The government will not go back to the Court," the person said.
The Economic Times reported on Wednesday that the Supreme Court registrar had not accepted the government’s miscellaneous application for allowing administrative allocation of spectrum in special cases on grounds that it did not disclose reasonable cause to be entertained, while also noting the time lapsed since the judgement in 2012. The report added that the government sought a review of the order passed by the court in the guise of an application.
The Supreme Court in 2012 had said that competitive auctions will be the route for distribution of natural resources owned by the public. A review petition to the judgement was withdrawn by the government.
A Presidential reference by the Union government also followed the judgement. Mint had reported last week quoting officials that the application filed by the government did not seek to change the 2012 order issued by the court, and that auction will continue to be the only mechanism for giving out spectrum for telecom services.
To be sure, currently the government allocates spectrum in certain categories on administrative basis, for instance, airwaves to state-run carrier Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, spectrum for radar for weather forecasting, for maritime communications on ships, communication and radar for the armed forces. Also Read: Centre targets 30% higher revenue from telcos in FY25 A second person aware of the development said that the telecom department was close to preparing a reference to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for beginning fresh consultation on
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