To
Shri T V Somanathan
Cabinet Secretary
Govt of India
Dear Shri Somanathan,
I understand that the Government has “decided to give a major relief to telecom companies, running into thousands of crores of rupees, by waiving off spectrum usage charges (SUC) on airwaves bought through auctions before Sept 2021” (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/relief-to-telcos-govt-set-to-waive-spectrum-usage-fee/articleshow/119390874.cms)
I remind the government that the apex court, in the 2G Spectrum case, had categorically directed the government in 2012 not to allot spectrum except through a transparent auction process based exclusively on competitive bidding. The above cited decision violates the letter and spirit of that order.
I have pointed out time and again to the government that spectrum auctions for the last several years had no competition worth its name. In addition, I cautioned the government that reliefs granted to telecom operators post-auction amounted to violating the apex court’s order and raised serious concerns of impropriety (https://countercurrents.org/2022/09/recent-5g-spectrum-auctions-post-tender-developments-erode-the-credibility-of-the-auctions/)
Further violating the letter and spirit of the apex court order, the government chose to allot satellite spectrum space administratively to a foreign player, StarLink, ignoring the overall strategic implications, raising yet another concern about the non-transparent approach adopted.
The two domestic telecom operators, AirTel and Jio opposed such administrative allocation of satellite spectrum in the first instance but, for inexplicable reasons, they finally chose instead to join hands with StarLink, evidently with the government’s tacit consent, which implied StarLink foring a cartel with the two dominant domestic players, posing a serious threat to safeguarding the interests of millions of domestic customers. I had questioned it in my letter of 12th March 2025 ( https://countercurrents.org/2025/03/elon-musks-starlink-forming-a-cartel-with-the-two-domestic-telecom-operators-to-appropriate-strategic-domestic-satellite-spectrum/)
The latest report that the Government has decided to waive off spectrum usage charges (SUC) on airwaves bought through auctions before Sept 2021 amounts to yet another post-tender bonanza given to private telecom operators, the implications of which could run into thousands of crores of rupees. In my view, such a decision violates the apex court’s direction, as it makes a mockery of an auction process to be conducted on the basis of a set of pre-determined transparent criteria. It also amounts to an outright impropriety, as it benefits telecom operators at the cost of the customers.
I demand that an independent enquiry be ordered to examine the extent to which the government has violated the apex court’s directions on spectrum auctions, the extent of undue benefits granted to private telecom operators, whether the decision has been motivated by an attempt on the part of the government to appease StarLink and the extent of improprieties involved in all such decisions relating to spectrum allotment since 2012, after the date on which the apex court pronounced its order.
It’s a matter of public concern that the government should go to any extent to please private telecom players, especially StarLink, at the cost of millions of helpless customers!
Yours sincerely,
E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to the Government of India
Visakhapatnam
