Reliance Jio to PMO: Poor services due to delay in spectrum sale – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Reliance Jio, the country’s largest telecom operator, has written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the telecom ministry, alleging that “vested interests” are holding back spectrum sale worth nearly Rs 4 lakh crore, which is leading to poor services for the consumers and depriving the exchequer of much-needed cash.
Immediate auctions can generate revenues of around Rs 25,000 crore for the government as upfront payment before December this year, it said, adding that there has been an exponential increase in both data and voice consumption during the Covid period. The capacity crunch requires spectrum auctions to be held “without any delay”, and in line with recommendations made by regulator Trai and inter-ministerial digital communications commission (DCC).
“Some operators are merely interested in perpetuating their 2G technologies and monetise old equipment as much as possible. We submit that the nation-building policies should not be kept hostage to vested interests of such a few,” Jio said, refusing to name any company. Industry analysts, however, said the company is taking potshots at rivals Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, who have large numbers of 2G customers in their kitty.