Uninor and Etisalat DB were given preferential treatment by A Raja, says CBI
Telecom tribunal TDSAT on Thursday reserved judgement on new operator Uninor's petition challenging Telecom Ministry's drive to impose penalty on telcos that did not roll out services within the stipulated period.
A Norwegian-Indian joint venture Uninor, on Thursday became the latest entrant in the country's highly competitive mobile telephony market, where it would offer GSM services at rates as low as 29 paisa per minute.
The apex court had on February 2, last year cancelled 122 licences for 2G spectrum and had directed the department of telecommunication to hold fresh auction for them within four months.
It wants subscribers who are 'active' on its network.
Telecom tribunal TDSAT on Friday directed Uninor to pay 60 per cent of the penalty, demanded by the Department of Telecom (DoT), for failing to roll-out services within the stipulated period.
Taking mobile tariffs to a new low, telecom service provider Uninor, a joint venture between Unitech and Norwegian firm Telenor, on Frday announced call charges as low as 20 paise per minute.
Earlier, the company had to shut operations in the Mumbai circle, following a directive by the Supreme Court.
The telecom tribunal TDSAT on Wednesday directed Uninor to pay Rs 6 crore to the government as penalty for delay in rolling out services in two circles, as per its license conditions.
The company will lose the validity of its licences in Kolkata, West Bengal and Mumbai telecom circles on in January.
On February 2, the court had ordered the cancellation of 122 licences issued in January 2008 under then telecom minister, A Raja, and directed the government to conduct the auction of vacated 2G spectrum in four months.
Despite mounting losses from its Indian operations and growing pressure from minority stakeholders back home, Norwegian telecom major Telenor said Uninor, its telecom joint venture in India, plans to raise about Rs 9,365 crore to support its expansion.
Says recommendations not in line with court order; move follows Telenor threat to quit India.
For Uninor, it is more important to serve customers better in existing circles rather than going for pan-India operations.
Telco says zones where it had acquired fresh spectrum in the November auction won't be affected.
The Norway-based firm, Telenor, entered India through a joint venture with Unitech Wireless.
Telenor wanted to scrap the JV with Unitech and migrate the business to a new company to seek fresh operating licences.
Idea takes the matter back to Supreme Court as cancellation-hit telcos make decisive moves.
Uninor announced on Tuesday the launch of its global GSM service in Kolkata. Along with Kolkata and West Bengal, the service was simultaneously launched in Maharashtra and Goa, Mumbai and Gujarat circles.
Telenor of Norway and Sistema of Russia - on Friday asserted that they would take legal measures.
The phenomenon is a little difficult to explain. According to the Supreme Court's order, all telecom service licences given in 2008, during the A Raja regime, have to be cancelled by June 2. The licencees will have to return the spectrum they received to host telephony services.
Unitech said it would exit the telecom JV with Telenor by disposing of its entire shareholding in Uninor and both the parties have amicably settled all legal disputes between them.
Norwegian firm Telenor, the majority partner in Uninor, has asked Sanjay Chandra to step down from the post of Chairman of Unitech Wireless in the wake of ongoing 2G court case.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) of the country's four new GSM operators who got licences in 2008 - Uninor, S-Tel, Videocon and Etisalat DB - was between Rs 8.50 and Rs 39 in the January-March quarter.
The Department of Telecom has worked out a one-time spectrum charge of over Rs 2,060 crore to be levied from operators for the period they remained in business after their licences were cancelled in February last year, sources said.
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When it comes to the number of phone bill disputes, Vodafone, Idea Cellular, BSNL and Aircel were high on the list in several service areas during the quarter ended June.
Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, RCom, Reliance Jiosubmitted applications.
In a major reform push, government on Thursday approved 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the telecom sector, meeting a key demand of the fund-starved industry.
The government on Wednesday said it has cleared Norwegian telecom firm Telenor's proposal to invest Rs 1,000 crore in a joint venture company in the telecom sector.
Operators play a wait-and-watch game, as users take well-informed decisions while moving between networks.
Telenor 'yet again surprised', says will challenge order in a higher court
The top three operators - Airtel, Vodafone and Idea - which account for over 67 per cent of the GSM market, lost over 2.17 million users in September.
Ruling comes at a time when IT firms have signed multi-million dollar deals with telecom firms.
Govt petition separated from others, to be heard in open court on Apr 13
Firms to pay Rs 24,700 cr if spectrum formula is accepted.
Says got govt clearance in investments in Unitech Wireless.
Board of directors of Unitech Wireless to clear name on Tuesday.
Summons have been issued to some new telecom firms asking for financial records and documents, according to official sources. However, the names of the companies could not be ascertained.
Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao on Thursday appeared before Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) probing the 2G spectrum scam to explain his position during his term as the finance secretary.
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