News Details  :

INTERNET service providers (ISPs) such as Sify, Aircel and Spectranet are considering legal action against the Department of Telecom’s plan to take back radio frequencies allotted to them in 2003 to offer wireless broadband services and auction the same for WiMax service rollouts. In a letter to telecom minister A Raja, the Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) has threatened to move the court, citing a legal opinion that stated the DoT move may invite estoppel, or legal bar.
“If a government makes a promise to some person/s, and the same acts based on the promise and changes his position, the government will then be bound by the promise. All that the claimant will have to show is that he changed his position based on the promise by the government,� says the legal advice ISPAI took from a Delhi High Court judge.
The development will impact government plans to auction spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band for basic wireless access (BWA), or WiMax, services for a minimum bid price of Rs 1,050 crore by first week of February 2009. The government plans to raise a minimum of Rs 4,200 crore through the auction.
The government had issued a circular in January 2008 to ISPs — Sify, Reliance Communications, Bharti, HCL, Primus, Aircel and Spectranet —asking them to return 40 MHz spectrum they held together. While others have returned their spectrum, Sify, Spectranet and Aircel are unwilling to do so. Instead, they are planning to move the Delhi HC on the issue if DoT does not take cognizance of their legal position.
They blamed lack of infrastructure for not launching wireless broadband services. “It’s like asking a buyer to return the car if he has not used it frequently due to lack of good roads. We are investing in the infrastructure, and have started pilots. We may approach the Delhi HC if the DoT does not take cognizance of our position,� said Sify president Naresh Ajwani.