Uninor to continue services in Mumbai following SC extension

Apex court today extended till February 4 the January 18 deadline for existing operators of 2G spectrum to carry out operations

Telecom operator Uninor today said it may decide to participate in the upcoming auction to get spectrum for Mumbai circle and will continue its services in the financial capital following the Supreme Court granting an extension to operators whose licences were cancelled.

"Considering there will be a second spectrum auction in Mumbai and Telenor Group has stated that it may decide to participate in these auctions, Uninor's services will continue in Mumbai in line with the license extension announced by the Supreme Court," Uninor said in a statement.

The Supreme Court today extended till February 4 the January 18 deadline for existing operators of 2G spectrum to carry out operations. It also asked the Centre to spell out the price to be charged for continuing with their service after cancellation of licences last year.

Uninor, in which Norwegian telecom major Telenor holds a majority stake, was among the operators whose licences were cancelled by the Supreme Court in February last year.

The company said it will continue to scale down its operations in Kolkata and West Bengal.

"In the Kolkata and West Bengal circles where no additional 1800 Mhz spectrum auction is expected, services will continue to be scaled down as announced," it said.

The company added that in the six circles of UP (E), UP (W), Bihar and Jharkhand, AP, Maharashtra and Gujarat, the group has already secured a 20 year license and Uninor services will continue uninterrupted.