Vodafone plea to renew licences in seven circles rejected

Asks company to participate in a competitive auction to retain the airwaves

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has rejected the request of Vodafone India to renew its licences in seven circles: Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (east), Maharashtra and Gujarat, all expiring in December next year.

The DoT said the company should convert the licences into unified ones and buy bandwidth in an auction likely to be held later this year. In May, Vodafone had applied for extension of licences in the circles under the licensing rules of 1995.

The rule, under which the company had first acquired licences, permitted operators to seek extension of their permits for 10 years after the initial term of 20 ends. The DoT said too much had changed in the Indian telecom scene for such an extension to be granted.

In December 2012, Vodafone had applied for extension of licences in three circles: Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, citing the same reasons. This was denied by the DoT, following which Vodafone had moved the Delhi high court.

Later, the company had offered to pay Rs 4,000 crore and a spectrum usage charge of three per cent for extension in the circles for 20 years. The DoT has denied that. Vodafone had in March bought fresh spectrum through auction in the three circles.