Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is believed to have asked Telecom Minister A Raja to ensure full competition among service providers and disfavoured referring the controversial spectrum allocation issue to a Group of Ministers.
Raja is understood to have got the directions when he met the prime minister in New Delhi late Friday evening.
Sources said some of the cabinet ministers had broached the spectrum allocation to the prime minister and suggested the issue be referred to GOM.
The prime minister had disfavoured the suggestion and instead asked Raja to ensure a level-playing field, a move that could help a score of experienced players to get into the GSM-based mobile services.
The telecom industry is divided over spectrum allocation norms with GSM operators opposing the new norms as recommended by the Telecom Engineering Centre and CDMA operators favouring them.
The Telecom Engineering Centre has recommended 2 to 15 times higher subscriber base for GSM operators to become eligible to get additional spectrum and this has been strongly opposed by the GSM operators lobby Cellular Operators Association of India.
On the other hand, a leading CDMA player Reliance Communications has alleged that the GSM operators have hoarded over 50 MHz of spectrum and have sought the prime minister's intervention for surrender of the same.
According to sources, the prime minister has favoured a healthy competition in the telecom sector and Raja is understood to have assured Singh that the controversy over spectrum allocation would be resolved in an amicable and transparent manner.
Cellular operators, including Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin and Reliance Communications chairman Anil Ambani, Shiv Sena and BJP leaders and foreign investors TEMASEK holdings have written to Dr Singh seeking his intervention to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, an official committee constituted to review TEC recommendations concluded discussions with all the operators on Friday and will give its report soon.
