Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL) has won spectrum in the 800 MHz band in eight circles. It has bagged spectrum in Delhi, Kolkata, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh (West) and West Bengal.
However, SSTL did not bid for spectrum in the Mumbai, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh East circles. It will therefore soon shut shop in these three circles and will ask its customers to migrate to other networks.
The spectrum is technology neutral and its licences will be valid for 20 years. The company will be paying a licence fee of Rs 36.39 billion to the government for the licences it won. The operator is required to pay 25 per cent of the total licence fee within 10 days of acquiring the spectrum in the auction, followed by a payment moratorium until March 2016, after which it will pay the remaining licence fee in 10 equal annual installments. Further, the government has allowed the operator to set off its previous licence fee of Rs 16.26 billion against the spectrum fee for the newly acquired licences in the eight circles.
Commenting on the win, Vsevolod Rozanov, president and chief executive officer, SSTL, says, “Given the range of variables we have considered and the spectrum cost for 800 MHz, it was a big challenge to arrive at a core list of eight circles and to bid accordingly. With the Rajasthan circle also being a part of the operator’s footprint, we would be able to service 4 per cent of country’s population, address over 60 per cent of data business potential, and safeguard 75 per cent of our current revenues and significantly optimise our losses. Our go forward plan includes building an even stronger brand in the country by focusing on our data centric-voice enabled strategy.”
