FRONT PAGE | Thursday, December 18, 2008 | Email | Print | 
Why is BSNL sharing spectrum with pvt players?
J Gopikrishnan | New Delhi
Minister Raja makes company infrastructure available to competitors almost free
We have seen how Telecom Minister A Raja facilitated spectrum allotment to a bunch of private players on first-come-first-served basis. His decision resulted in a raging controversy, leading to the demands for his resignation and parliamentary probe into a range of affairs, including the business interests of his immediate family members. It now appears that the enterprising Minister had not just facilitated the spectrum allotment; his benign attitude went farther - in persuading the Ministry’s flagship unit, the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), to help out one of the licencees, Swan Telecom.
Within weeks of allotting the spectrum licence to Swan, Raja helped it have a strategic arrangement with the State-owned BSNL, literally for free. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on September 13 between BSNL and Swan, called the Intra-Circle Roaming Agreement, does not indicate even a nominal sum that BSNL is charging for sharing its infrastructure. Incidentally, this is the first deal of its kind that the BSNL has entered into with any private player.
The BSNL has been rather secretive of its charitable attitude towards Swan. Its Website does not have a word on this important development wherein a public organisation offers its services for free to a private party.
BSNL chairman and managing director Kuldeep Goyal confirmed the arrangement and termed it a “limited MoU”. Talking to The Pioneer, he said he could specify what charges BSNL planned to levy for providing the unprecedented intra-circle roaming facility to a private operator.
When asked specifically on charges that BSNL may seek from Swan, Goyal replied, “See, this is only a limited MoU. No agreement has been signed with them. Swan has not yet started its operations. We are working out the details. I can’t tell you all details of the MoU. The money part will be specific in due course of time. I don’t know how much money we are going to levy on them. I told you this is only a limited MoU; specifics will be discussed when we come to a final agreement.”
The Pioneer has learned through highly-placed sources that the high-level management committee of BSNL had recommended 52 paisa per call from Swan for providing the intra-circle roaming facility. But this recommendation found no mention in the “limited MoU”.
Sources further informed The Pioneer that the “limited MoU” greatly helped Swan in later sewing up the deal with the UAE-based telecom company Etisalat, which picked up stake in Swan for a reported sum of $900 million (approximately Rs 4,500 crore) in October.
Some officers of the Wireless Planning and Co-ordination (WPC) section in Sanchar Bhavan, who objected to the BSNL-Swan deal, were shunted out. Joint Wireless Adviser RJS Kushwaha and Deputy Wireless Adviser D Jha were transferred out for questioning the arrangement.
Telecom officials say Swan is expected to benefit to the tune of at least Rs 1,000 crore since it would not have to invest in infrastructure.
Opposition up in arms
New Delhi: For the second day in a row, the spectrum allotment scam rocked Parliament with the Opposition joining ranks to demand a JPC inquiry and dismissal of Telecom Minister A Raja. The Left parties and the MDMK (Vaiko) staged a walkout in the Lok Sabha when the Speaker refused permission to table an adjournment motion initiated by CPI(M) parliamentary party leader Basudeb Acharia and CPI leader S Sudhakar Reddy. BJP leader Ananth Kumar criticised the Government for ‘covering up’ the scam.
Email | Print | Rate:
|