The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) is seeking government response, on behalf of Indian cellco Idea Cellular, about changes in the spectrum allocation policy, the Economic Times reported.
In 2008, the Department of Telecom…
The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) is seeking government response, on behalf of Indian cellco Idea Cellular, about changes in the spectrum allocation policy, the Economic Times reported.
In 2008, the Department of Telecom (DoT) decided to no longer work on a first-come/first-served basis but rather on a first-pay/first-served basis.
Idea Cellular reportedly argues that the shift in policy was aimed at benefiting a few applicants, who were lower in the list for spectrum attributions.
Earlier this week, Indian mobile operator Unitech Wireless (Uninor) also called on the TDSAT against the DoT with regards to penalties imposed on cellcos, reports wrote.
Several companies including Etisalat DB, Loop Telecom and Uninor paid, under protest, penalties to the federal government for failing to launch their services within a year of receiving radio bandwidth. The DoT has given them 15 days to pay up in order to avoid cancellation of licences received in 2008.
But Uninor reportedly claims that the regulator made a mistake when calculating the rollout time period and says that it couldn’t launch its services due to the delayed action of the DoT.
Over the last few months, the Indian telecom sector has been in embroiled in a scandal, after it was revealed that 2G licences sold in 2008 were underpriced.
In the meantime, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) argued that some operators did not meet their rollout obligations, which include covering at least 10% of the district headquarters within 12 months of receiving licences.
It therefore recommended that as many as 38 telecom licences be cancelled or their owners fined.
