The efforts of foreign players facing licence cancellation as per the Supreme Court?s verdict have received a boost, with representatives from the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) reportedly meeting the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to discuss the issue.
It is believed that the cases of Etisalat DB and Sistema were discussed. These companies face cancellation of 15 and 21 licences respectively, as per the Court?s verdict.
ASSOCHAM reportedly raised the issue of the upcoming spectrum auctions in the context of these operators. Prior to this, it was reported that these operators were at odds with the older players with regard to the auctions. ASSOCHAM, it is believed, sided with the new players on this issue.
These operators, along with Videocon, Uninor, Loop, etc, who face licence cancellation, had asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to split the auction into two rounds, with different base prices.
They had said that only those players whose licenses were cancelled by the Supreme Court and other new entrants, who plan to foray into the Indian telecom space, ought to participate in the first stage of the bidding process, which is for start-up spectrum. Further, they said that incumbents such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone should only be allowed in the second phase, which would be for additional airwaves.
The only exceptions to this are Idea Cellular and Tata Teleservices Limited, whose licences were canceled in seven and three circles respectively by the Court.
These companies have also asked TRAI to ensure that the base price for spectrum in the first round of auctions be set at Rs 16.58 billion.
Also, these operators have asked the regulator to ensure that the all fees and charges, including entry fee and the value of financial and performance bank guarantees already paid, should be considered as part of the bid amount already committed by the 2008 licensees. The companies added that this amount be accordingly reduced from the bid amount payable by such licensees after the price has been determined through the proposed auction.
However, incumbents such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) had asked TRAI to ensure that the auction of bandwidth be open to all operators.
