New telecom operator Uninor has appealed to the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). This is on account of the DoT asking the company to pay a penalty for missing its roll-out obligations.
In so far, the operator has, under protest, paid between Rs 99 million and Rs 110 million as penalty for four circles. It is yet to pay for six other circles for which it has been served notices.
The issue has been adjourned to 6 January, 2011 on ?technical? grounds.
Mid December, DoT had issued show-cause notices to Uninor, Sistema Shyam TeleServices Limited (SSTL), Etisalat DB and Loop Telecom for missing their roll out obligations as stipulated in their licences. They were given 15 days to respond after which their licences stood a chance of being cancelled, post a 52 week grace period.
In fact, in November for the same reason, the Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had recommended that the licences be cancelled in at least 15 circles of Etisalat, 10 circles of SSTL, 8 circles of Uninor, 10 circles of Videocon and 19 circles of Loop.
These companies have paid up, but they have made it clear that the payment has been made under protest.
