Indian Government Lost 41k Crore Due to Lack of EVDO Spectrum Auction
Government of India had recently allowed CDMA service providers the option to use EVDO technology to provide high speed internet access. But now a CAG report states that as this facility was provided without an auction, it cost the government treasury a sum of Rs 41,000 Crore.
The CAG seeking a reply from the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) stated in a note, ‘‘The non-auctioning of the spectrum in 800 Mhz (CDMA spectrum) for EVDO services resulted in non-realisation of upfront one time charge of Rs 4,187.65 crore.”
The Department of Telecommunication(DoT) though stated that the CAG’s claims of losses are “presumptive and hypothetical”. They replied that the CDMA providers were well within their license limits when they provided the EVDO based internet access. DoT holds the view that EVDO is to CDMA as EDGE is to GSM services and hence don’t require a new auction.
This is still a developing story in which multiple stakeholders will clear their stance on the matters. The trade association representing telecom companies, Telecom Service Providers India (AUSPI) Association of Unified Telecom Service, has cleared that in their opinion EVDO is an alternative form of CDMA and so companies are in their limits to use the technology.
In the recent times the Compotroller and Auditor General (CAG) has been proactively watching India’s accounts and have uncovered some glaring scams in the process. Lets just hope in times of severe corruption scandals, a new scandal doesn’t come and act as a dampner to our inflation-prone economy.
