(a) whether the Reliance Industries has been allocated Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether it has been alleged that the company gained unfair advantage in the auction process;
(d) if so, the details thereof and action taken by the Government in this regard; and
(e) whether the Government has taken any action to increase spectrum usage charge and if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS &
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)
(a) & (b) M/s Infotel Broadband Solutions Private Limited (IBSPL) participated in the auction held in the year 2010 for 3G and BWA (Broadband Wireless Access) Spectrum and won BWA spectrum, 20 MHz each, in all the 22 Licensed Service Areas (LSAs) at the auction determined price and spectrum usage charges (SUC) at the rate of 1% of the applicable AGR (Adjusted Gross Revenue) from the BWA services. Later on the name of the Company has been changed to M/s Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited.
(c) & (d) In this regard, there was a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed vide Petition No. 382 of 2014 by M/s Centre for Public Interest Litigation, which was dismissed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
(e) The Government, in August, 2016 has revised the spectrum usage charges (SUC) across all spectrum assigned to an operator in all Access Spectrum Bands including Broadband Wireless Access spectrum in 2300 MHz/ 2500 MHz band acquired in 2010 auction, wherein every service provider has to pay a minimum of 3% of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR).