Following cancellation of 122 2G licences by the Supreme Court early this year, telecom equipment worth Rs 70 billion is lying idle at telecom towers, say news reports.
In this context, tower companies and vendors have asked operators to settle their outstanding dues before the upcoming spectrum auction. The majority of idle telecom equipment belongs to operators such as Uninor, S-Tel and Loop Telecom.
These companies had made huge investments in active telecom infrastructure which comprises base stations, base-station controllers and mobile switching centres to power plants. S-Tel, for instance, had invested about Rs 16.5 billion in active network equipment, while Loop and Etisalat DB invested over Rs 13.75 and 38.5 billion, respectively.
Meanwhile, operators are currently facing issues while attempting to reclaim their active infrastructure from vendors. Etisalat, for instance, is facing settlement claims of Rs 37 billion from banks and infrastructure companies and has appointed law firm Solomon & Co, to handle its case.
