After Batelco, and Etisalat, Augere Wireless is the third company planning to leave India because of regulatory uncertainties related to the country’s 2G scam, according to the Economic Times.
Augere, which acquired 4G spectrum in two circles in …
After Batelco, and Etisalat, Augere Wireless is the third company planning to leave India because of regulatory uncertainties related to the country’s 2G scam, according to the Economic Times.
Augere, which acquired 4G spectrum in two circles in 2010, is shutting down its Indian operations and has asked its employees in the country to resign, CEO Lars Henrick Stork was quoted as saying.
The company was not immediately available for comment.
In early February, the Supreme Court had ordered the cancellation of 122 2G licences after concluding they had been illegally granted in 2008. A new 2G auction is expected to take place within the next few months, but several telcos have expressed their concerns about the proposed reserve prices for the spectrum.
Stork also cited the lack of clarity on the new telecoms policy, which has yet to be officially announced.
These regulatory uncertainties have prevented Augere from raising funds from investors, he said. As a result, the company has decided to leave the country.
Before Augere, both Bahrain’s Batelco and UAE’s Etisalat said they would exit their respective Indian mobile venture, citing the 2G scam.
Meanwhile, Norwegian telco Telenor and Russian Sistema also threatened to leave the country unless a solution can be found regarding the cancellation of their licences.
Sanjiv Ahuja, the former CEO of LightSquared and of Orange, is Augere’s founder and major shareholder. The company already provides wireless broadband services in Pakistan and Bangladesh under the Qubee brand.
