In the wake of the Supreme Court?s verdict in the 2G spectrum case, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) plans to issue new guidelines pertaining to the procedures to be followed by the companies who lost their licence.
These guidelines are expected to provide clarity on issues such as whether these companies should continue to sell recharge coupons and fresh connections and the appropriate procedure for the same.
On February 2, 2012, the Supreme Court finally took a stand in the 2G spectrum case and revoked 122 licenses issued under A Raja’s tenure. This includes 21 licences of Videocon, 22 licences of Uninor, 9 of Idea Cellular, 3 of Tata Teleservices Limited, 21 of Loop, 6 of S-Tel, 21 of SSTL, 15 of Etisalat and 4 of Spice.
These licences were granted after January 2008 and are being cancelled for being outside the eligibility criteria for allocation of 2G spectrum.
Licence cancellation apart, these operators also faced heavy penalties. The Supreme Court imposed a penalty of Rs 50 million each on Unitech Wireless (Uninor), Swan Telecom and TTSL, while Loop, STel, Allianz and Sistema Shyam Teleservices Limited were fined Rs 5 million each.
The Supreme Court?s verdict evoked different responses from the new players. UAE-based Emirates Telecommunication Corporation (Etisalat), for instance, has written off investments worth $827 million from its Indian Joint Venture, Etisalat DB. This move is viewed as a deliberate attempt by the operator to exit India.
Similarly, Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) announced the sale of its 42.7 percent stake in S-Tel for $175 million. Batelco will sell its stake to India partner Sky City Foundation Limited at the same price that it paid to acquire its holding in S Tel during 2009. The deal is expected to be completed by October 2012.
Meanwhile, the parent companies of operators like Uninor and Sistema Shyam Teleservices Limited have approached various Indian government officials to discuss the issue.
