DoT to issue notices to 35 licensees

The department of telecommunications (DoT) is in the process of issuing show-cause notices to 35 licensees, asking them why their licences should not be cancelled for failure to meet rollout obligations.

It has already sought legal opinion on cancellation of some licences for not meeting rollout obligations. Eighty five show-cause notices were also issued for alleged non-fulfilment of the eligibility criteria.

“The process of issuing notices to 35 licensees for missing out rollout obligations will be completed by March,” DoT secretary R Chandrashekhar said at a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) event.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had earlier recommended cancellation of 65 new licences over operators’ failure to roll out services within the stipulated time frame. DoT has already issued 17 show-cause notices, for which it has received replies and is awaiting legal opinion.

The secretary said the government would unveil a new telecom policy in January, the draft for which was released last month.

DoT will decide on the merger and acquisition norms and pricing of excess 2G spectrum by the year-end. It has already collected over Rs 300 crore in liquidated damages from various new operators for not rolling out services within the time stipulated.

According to the licence conditions, the operators have to cover 10 per cent of district headquarters within a telecom circle within the first year of allotment of spectrum. After the expiry of another 52 weeks, after claiming liquidated damages, the licences can be cancelled in case the services are not rolled out.

At the CII event, Bharti Airtel CEO for India and South Asia, Sanjay Kapoor, said, “We have lived through tough times, whether it was bidding for 3G licences or seeking clarification on whether roaming is possible or not and then receiving (getting to know) that it is questioned.”

The absence of a transparent telecom regulatory environment not only made life difficult for service providers, but also impacted investors’ confidence in the sector, he said, adding too many operators had put a question mark on the sustainability of the industry.

Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular had signed 3G roaming agreements for offering services in circles where they do not have the spectrum. The agreements are under the scrutiny of DoT, whose internal wings and Trai have opined these are in violation of the licence conditions.

Kapoor expressed hopes the new policy would be finalised in an open consultative and transparent manner.