Pranab heads Group on 3G

The Centre constituted an empowered Group of Ministers (e-GoM) on Monday that will look into the issues related to pricing and other aspects of spectrum for 3G (third generation) mobile services.

The nine-member e-GoM will be headed by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The members are: Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Communications and Information Technology Minister A. Raja, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, Minister of State for Science & Technology Prithviraj Chavan, and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

The e-GoM will look into the unresolved issues, including the reserve price for spectrum and other charges and the number of 3G players to be allowed in every telecom circle.

It will also look into the issues related to wireless broadband (WiMAX).

The Centre’s decision came after the Ministry of Finance and Department of Telecom failed to reach a consensus on spectrum pricing and other issues related to 3G and WiMAX services despite several rounds of meetings between senior officials and Ministers.