The Idea Cellular-Spice Communications? licence issue continues.
Prior to this, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had imposed a penalty of Rs 3 billion on Idea Cellular, for allegedly violating licence norms.
Spice Communications was operational in the Haryana, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Delhi circles, where Idea Cellular, too, obtained licences. Thereafter, Idea Cellular acquired Spice.
In this context, DoT had argued that Idea Cellular had violated licence norms, as current UASL guidelines bar an operator from holding more than 10 per cent stake in two telecom companies operating in the same circles. It then imposed a penalty of Rs 500 million for each circle.
This was contested by Idea Cellular before the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), who has reportedly permitted the operators? petition.
TDSAT has stated that DoT ought to provide a rationale for imposing a penalty on Idea Cellular.
