The Supreme Court has requested the government to submit an affidavit regarding the spectrum usage charges (SUCs) to be paid by telecom operator Bharti Airtel. The court directed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to file an affidavit stating that Bharti Airtel will have to pay lower SUCs compared to new players who acquired airwaves through the 2016 auction, according to an ETTelecom report.
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Lower Spectrum Usage Charges for Bharti Airtel
During the hearing of the DoT's appeal, a bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna instructed additional solicitor general Vikramjit Banerjee to file an affidavit on behalf of the DoT. The affidavit should affirm, under oath, that as per the sectoral tribunal's order, Bharti Airtel would be liable to pay lower/lesser SUCs in comparison to the new players who were allotted spectrum under the 2016 telecom policy and auction.
Comparison of Revenue Between 2010 and 2016 Auctions
Furthermore, the Supreme Court also asked the DoT to provide a chart illustrating the revenue difference between the 2010 and 2016 auctions. This additional information is expected to shed light on the financial disparities arising from the spectrum allocation process.
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DoT's Challenge to Tribunal's Ruling
The DoT had challenged the ruling of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, which quashed a clause in the DoT's August 2016 office order related to SUCs for different spectrum bands.
Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom had approached the tribunal, alleging that the DoT had acted arbitrarily and unreasonably by excluding the spectrum in the 2300 MHz and 2500 MHz bands acquired or allocated before 2015-2016 when determining the minimum SUCs to be paid by operators.
