Norway’s Telenor-owned Uninor has moved the Supreme Court challenging the controversial auction proposals of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and said its recommendations violated the letter and spirit of the apex court orders, the latest salvo in the escalating battle between telecom companies and the regulator. The company has asked the Supreme Court to direct the regulator and the telecom department to conduct the new rounds of auctions for all the cancelled spectrum and to ensure that all the operators whose licences were scrapped by the court in February have the opportunity to obtain airwaves, said a spokesman. Telenor, which earlier said it would exit India should Trai’s recommendation get accepted, is the first operator to approach the Supreme Court against the proposals. While the Supreme Court enabled new operators to continue after procuring fresh licences and spectrum through auctions, the recommendations are asking for all but one new operator to be evicted. The Court ordered an auction whereas the recommendations are simply conducting a price discovery test with 5 MHz spectrum and not a ‘legitimate auction’, said the company in a statement.
Sistema Shyam, the Indian telecom joint venture between Russia’s Sistema and India’s Shyam Group, meanwhile filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court asking it to set aside its February 2 verdict that cancelled all but one of their mobile permits. A curative petition is filed to get relief in a matter after the dismissal of review petition and is decided in the chambers of judges. Seven other operators that also lost licences along with the judgement have so far made peace with the directive to participate in an open auction or exit the service areas where licences were revoked. Sistema has also invoked a bilateral treaty between India and Russia to protect this investment and warned that if the government failed to settle this dispute amicably within six months, it could commence arbitration before an international tribunal.
The CDMA operator is the only one so far to have filed a curative petition after the Supreme Court last month rejected its review petition. Telenor owned Uninor had said that it would file a similar plea but has not made a move in this direction so far.
Meanwhile, Mauritius-based Capital Global Ltd and Kaif Investment, investors of Loop Telecom, have invoked the India-Mauritius bilateral investment treaty joining the league of other telecom companies including Vodafone that has served notice to the Indian government.
Sistema Shyam, the Indian telecom joint venture between Russia’s Sistema and India’s Shyam Group, meanwhile filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court asking it to set aside its February 2 verdict that cancelled all but one of their mobile permits. A curative petition is filed to get relief in a matter after the dismissal of review petition and is decided in the chambers of judges. Seven other operators that also lost licences along with the judgement have so far made peace with the directive to participate in an open auction or exit the service areas where licences were revoked. Sistema has also invoked a bilateral treaty between India and Russia to protect this investment and warned that if the government failed to settle this dispute amicably within six months, it could commence arbitration before an international tribunal.
The CDMA operator is the only one so far to have filed a curative petition after the Supreme Court last month rejected its review petition. Telenor owned Uninor had said that it would file a similar plea but has not made a move in this direction so far.
Meanwhile, Mauritius-based Capital Global Ltd and Kaif Investment, investors of Loop Telecom, have invoked the India-Mauritius bilateral investment treaty joining the league of other telecom companies including Vodafone that has served notice to the Indian government.
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