15.1.13

SC on Telecom tangle


The Supreme Court extended the January 18 deadline for shutting down mobile networks by an additional two weeks. A two-judge bench, comprising Justices GS Singhvi and KS Radhakrishnan, said these companies can continue operations till February 4, the next date of the hearing.
Last week, the department of telecommunication (DoT) had asked the apex court to extend the January 18 deadline by three months as the government was making a last-ditch effort to offer a lifeline to the Indian operations of Russia’s Sistema and Norway’s Telenor.
According to the court’s earlier directive, all mobile phone companies whose permits were quashed in February last year were mandated to shut down their networks by January 18, unless they had obtained airwaves and new licences in the recently concluded spectrum auctions.
The two-member bench also hinted that it may not extend the permits of mobile phone companies if they did not bid for licences in the upcoming airwaves sale.
The court also asked the government to inform it on the base price for airwaves in the spectrum sale scheduled to begin on March 11.
The panel of ministers on spectrum has already cut the base price for airwaves in the upcoming auctions. The bench sought this information to ascertain if companies with quashed permits were likely to participate in the upcoming sale and indicated that mobile phone firms interested in bagging licences in the next auction would be allowed to continue operations in the interim period.
The bench also took the opportunity to caution the government that any revision of prices may lead to litigation. “Have you taken a decision to reduce the (reserve) price? It will cause more litigation,” Justice Singhvi said. “You charge a different price in October and a different price in March 2013, and 2014, for the remaining areas/licences. There will be more litigation inter-se parties,” Justice Singhvi cautioned, adding fresh litigation on this issue would not be its concern.
Last week, EGoM on spectrum had recommended a 30-50% reduction in the base price for airwaves in the 800 MHz band.

Telecom operator Uninor said it may decide to participate in the upcoming auction to get spectrum for the Mumbai circle and will continue its services in the financial capital following the Supreme Court granting an extension to operators whose licences were cancelled

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