Telcos may move SC on dismissal of petitions for licence extension

Tribunal had dismissed Bharti, Vodafone, Idea petitions seeking extension of licences coming due for renewal in November

 

The country’s top three mobile operators by subscriber base — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular — are likely to move the Supreme Court against the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal’s dismissal of their petitions for extension of licences due for renewal in November in the 900 MHz spectrum band.

On Friday, TDSAT head Aftab Alam’s order had said: “The petitioners have failed to establish their right for extension in terms of the relevant provisions in their licences.”

If the extension had been allowed, the three would not have needed to participate in the spectrum auction from Monday to ensure uninterrupted services in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

TDSAT dismissed a similar petition from Loop Mobile, which has decided not to give bids for the auction. With the TDSAT order, the fate for its three million subscribers in Mumbai is uncertain.

Bharti Airtel has licences under question in Delhi and Kolkata and Vodafone in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. Loop only has operations in Mumbai. Idea had moved TDSAT against the principle adopted by the department of telecommunications (DoT) to not extend licences automatically where these are due to expire next year.

The ruling has ensured Bharti and Vodafone will bid aggressively to retain their existing holdings in the 900 MHz band. With Reliance Jio entering the scene, the bidding will be fierce in Delhi and Mumbai, while the Kolkata circle is also expected to see high interest.

Vodafone had earlier told DoT it would pay Rs 3,000 crore and a three per cent spectrum usage charge on annual adjusted gross revenue if the government agreed to extend its licences by 10 years. The original licence terms said if a company sought extension in the 19th year of operations, the Government may extend this by 10 more years.

TDSAT has, in a separate ruling said Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices were not entitled to additional spectrum as their dual-technology licence approvals have come under the scanner after the Supreme Court cancelled 122 mobile permits given to nine companies in February 2012, after these were found to be given illegally. However, Aircel and Dishnet were allowed to get an additional 1.8 Mhz.