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Spectrum Allocation

The Supreme Court of India has held that spectrum is public property owned by the citizens of India. It must be allocated and managed in the best interests of society. The court has ruled that auction is the best method for allocating limited spectrum resources and canceled 122 licenses granted outside of an auction process, ordering re-auction and imposing penalties.

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Harshit Chopra
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43 views14 pages

Spectrum Allocation

The Supreme Court of India has held that spectrum is public property owned by the citizens of India. It must be allocated and managed in the best interests of society. The court has ruled that auction is the best method for allocating limited spectrum resources and canceled 122 licenses granted outside of an auction process, ordering re-auction and imposing penalties.

Uploaded by

Harshit Chopra
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Amity Law School

Spectrum Allocation
Ownership of Spectrum Amity Law School

• Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in 1995 in the case of


Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt.
of India v. Cricket Association of Bengal decided that
spectrum is actually public property.
• This judgment has changed the perception of ownership of
spectrum in India and the way the government handles and
manages spectrum in today’s scenario.
Amity Law School

• Specifically, the Supreme Court in the aforementioned case


held as follows:
There is no doubt that since the airwaves/ frequencies are a
public property and are also limited, they have to be used in
the best interest of the society and this can be done either by a
central authority by establishing its own broadcasting network
or regulating the grant of licences to other agencies, including
the private agencies.
Amity Law School

• Reliance Natural Resources Limited v. Reliance Industries


Ltd whereby it was observed that
• natural resources are vested with the Government as a matter
of trust in the name of the people of India, thus it is the
solemn duty of the State to protect the national interest and
natural resources must always be used in the interests of the
country and not private interests.
Management of Spectrum in India Amity Law School

• International Management of Spectrum


Organisations like ITU
• National Management of Spectrum
Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Indian Wireless Telegraphy
Act, 1933 and Rules and Procedures made under these Acts
provide the legal basis for spectrum management.
Amity Law School

• National Frequency Allocation Plan (“NFAP”)


• The NFAP is the basis on which spectrum frequencies are
allocated in India. The ITU issues the international
frequency table for the purpose of giving the member
countries a basis on which they can formulate their own
frequency allocation plan.
• The NFAP is the frequency allocation plan of India. This
plan clearly allocates different frequency bands for different
radio- communication services.
Amity Law School

• Standing Advisory Committee on Frequency Application


• SACFA is a wing of the DoT which gives approval for radio
frequency (spectrum) used by telecom service providers.
• Obtaining a telecom license is not enough for the operator to
begin rolling out the services; a no objection from SACFA is
required.
Auction of Spectrum Amity Law School

• It should be noted that the government is bound to


ensure that its licensing decisions are rational,
transparent and free from arbitrariness.
Delhi Science Forum v Union of India, Amity Law School

• The decision of the government to invite tenders from non-


governmental and private entities for license to provide
telecommunications services was challenged in a writ
petition wherein it was contended that the sensitive nature of
telecommunications mandated that it should not be placed in
the hands of the private sector and any step in this direction
would not only endanger the national security of the country
but would not serve the economic interest of the country
Amity Law School

• The Supreme Court dismissed the writ and categorically held


that the privatization policy adopted by the government is a
necessary consequence of liberalization and the grant of
telecommunications licenses to non-governmental
organizations would greatly improve telecom services.
However the Supreme Court also emphasized the procedures
adopted for such grant should be “reasonable, rational and in
conformity with the conditions which have been
announced.”
Amity Law School

• Centre for Public Interest Litigation and Ors. Vs. Union of


India (UOI) and Ors (2012)3SCC1 concluded that
spectrum was a natural resource and national asset and
belonged to the public at large.
Amity Law School

• The Apex Court criticized the first come first served policy
of the government for distribution of 2G spectrum and held
that a duly publicized auction is the best way of disposing
public property
• Consequently, the Supreme Court delivered an order against
thirteen respondents holding that such respondents had been
favored by the government and had been illegally granted
telecom licenses.
Amity Law School
• The Supreme Court consequently issued an order cancelling
122 telecom licenses granted in various service areas for 2G
spectrum
• The Supreme Court also imposed financial penalties ranging
from 50laks to 5 Crores on the grounds that such
respondents had benefited at the cost of public exchequer by
a wholly arbitrary and unconstitutional decision taken by the
DoT for grant of licenses and spectrum.
Amity Law School

• Further, the Court also ordered the re-auction of the


spectrum that had been made available due to the
cancellation of the telecom licenses. Thus, going forward the
disposal of spectrum will only be done via a duly publicized
auction.

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