CBI has requested TRAI to set up an expert team to go into the entire gamut of spectrum pricing and give an estimate of loss that could be proved in court, an official said.
To clear confusion over the exact loss caused by arbitrary allocation of second generation mobile telephony spectrum by jailed former telecom minister A Raja in 2008, CBI has sought TRAI’s help. The telecom regulator has agreed.
The decision to approach TRAI was taken in view of the fluctuating estimates of the loss.
CBI has requested TRAI to set up an expert team to go into the entire gamut of spectrum pricing and give an estimate of loss that could be proved in court, an official said.
Prime minister Manmohan Singh had said at a presser last week that it was difficult to calculate the actual loss between 2001 and 2008 in the absence of an auction.
“The then policy of the government was that auctions should not take place and if auctions have not taken place, what is the basis to calculate the loss? There are various estimates, but you have to assess what is the right magnitude after asking yourself what was the right price,” PM said.
He pointed out the comptroller and auditor general had said it was a “presumptive loss”.
TRAI recently recommended a pan-India licence fee of Rs10,972.45 crore for 6.2 MHz of start-up spectrum with effect from April 1, 2010, as against the Rs1,658 crore being paid by operators. It had also recommended that each MHz of additional spectrum should incur a one-time all-India fee of Rs4,571.87 crore. The fee would, however, vary from circle to circle and operators would only have to pay for zones they hold extra spectrum in.
According to CBI, the loss range is “zero to Rs22,000 crore, Rs50,000 crore and Rs1.76 lakh crore”.
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