Defence Ministry demandsmore spectrum

In response, the Standing Committee of Members of Parliament led by M.M. Pallam Raju has said that,‘‘the committee impress upon the Department to ensure timely release of spectrum to counter the adversary and there should not be slightest scope for any aberrations in this regard,’’ it has said.

It has also recognised that the optimum utilisation of spectrum is ‘‘hampered by a higher number of operators as a buffer band has to be made available between allocation of spectrum to each of these operators.’’

This, however, says the committee report, cannot be a factor for restricting the entry of new players. Instead, the panel talks about ‘‘consolidation’’ of operators happening, depending on market forces.

‘‘While accepting the principle and logic of encouraging competition and offering multiple choices to consumers, the committee recommends that Government should take into consideraion the legitimate spctrum needs of the existing operators,’’ it says, indicating at the primacy of defence, followed by that of existing players in the telecom sector.