Loop Telecom, an Indian mobile operator, has filed a plea with the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), seeking Rs47bn (US$538m) in damages from the government for the cancellation of its 2G licences.
This is according to local…
Loop Telecom, an Indian mobile operator, has filed a plea with the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), seeking Rs47bn (US$538m) in damages from the government for the cancellation of its 2G licences.
This is according to local newspaper The Economic Times.
In early February, India’s Supreme Court ordered the cancellation of 122 2G licences held by eight mobile operators after concluding they had been illegally granted in 2008 by former telecoms minister A. Raja.
Soon after, at the beginning of April, Loop reportedly announced plans to shut down its operations outside Mumbai as a result of the licence cancellation. The move would impact around 6,000 out of the company’s 3.2 million customers.
The TDSAT has issued notices to the telecoms ministry and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and the next date for the hearing on Loop’s plea is scheduled for 17 July, writes the Economic Times.
The operator, which is controlled by Mauritius-based investors, has also reportedly threatened to invoke the India-Mauritius bilateral investment treaty if the dispute cannot be resolved within the next six months.
Norway’s Telenor and Russia’s Sistema, whose Indian ventures both lost their 2G licences, had also said previously they might ultimately resort to international arbitration to settle the dispute.
Loop was not immediately available for comment.
