The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) plans to request the Attorney General of India or the Comptroller and Auditor General of India for their opinion before canceling a few of the new telecom licences, issued in 2008, for not starting services within the stipulated timeframe as per existing norms.
Prior to this, in 2010, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had asked DoT to impose a penalty and cancel 65 new licences for not rolling out services within the stipulated timeframe.
Meanwhile, DoT has been issuing notices to various operators on two grounds, their ineligibility to obtain licences and missing roll-out obligations within the stipulated timeframe.
DoT has already issued notices to 15 new telecom companies, out of 65, as recommended by TRAI. All of these companies are a part of the 122 licencees identified by TRAI as ineligible to obtain a licence.
Also, DoT has already collected over Rs 3 billion as liquidated damages from various new operators for not rolling out services within the stipulated timeframe as per licence conditions.
According to the conditions, the operators have to cover 10 per cent of the district headquarters within the first year of allotment of spectrum. After 52 weeks, the licences can be cancelled in case the services are not rolled out as per licence conditions.
