The industry lobby United Telecom Service Providers of India (Auspi) has urged the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to accept the recommendation of the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on levying a one-time spectrum on existing mobile service providers.

In a letter to the Prime Minister AUSPI said that the EGoM recommendations should be reconsidered and rescinded, as they are not legally tenable and against the well-established principle of bounden duty of the government to honour its existing contracts with the licensees.

EGoM had forwarded its suggestions to the cabinet which will take the final decision.

Auspi’s letter said the contracted spectrum for GSM was 6.2 MHz and for CDMA it was 5 Mhz. The operators had already paid the spectrum fee, as the licence came bundled with spectrum up to the contracted limit.

“Charging for any spectrum below the contracted limit now, is illegal and in complete breach and violation of its contractual obligations and provisions of the Contract Act,” Auspi said in the letter. Copies were also sent to all EGoM members, the cabinet secretary and the principal secretary to the PM.

The contention AUSPI is that the enforcement of prospective charging is likely to create more inequalities and discrimination among the existing players, as the residual period of valid licences vary from two years to 10 years between GSM players and late entrants like Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications.

“We therefore request you that keeping in mind the benefit of the consumers, the EGoM recommendations of mid-term unilateral change to the contracts of our member-service providers by imposing a one-time charge for spectrum beyond 4.4/2.4 MHz of GSM/CDMA spectrum and up to 6.2/5 MHz i.e contracted spectrum may immediately be shelved,” Auspi secretary general Ashok Sud wrote.