CHENNAI: The cancellation of 122 telecom licences allotted under the 2G spectrum on or after January 10, 2008 by the Supreme Court has come as a blow to many telecom firms as well as subscribers in the State as the telecom companies are working on options to ensure they protect their investments.Idea’s six million subscribers in seven licence areas including Tamil Nadu are among those who are expected to be hit. Idea’s nine licences and four licences of erstwhile Spice Communications which merged with Idea Cellular, has been affected by the court judgement.Idea Cellular has rolled out its telecom services in seven licence areas which include TN, Kolkata, West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, NESA and Jammu & Kashmir. The remaining two licences of Idea Cellular and four licences of erstwhile Spice Communications are non-operational.“We understand that the licence holders are allowed to continue operations for the next four months and an auction will be conducted for these licenses within this period. We will study in detail the SC judgment and explore all possibilities to protect our investment,” a statement from Idea said.Similarly, Uninor said it has been penalised for faults the court has found in the government process. Uninor has 36 million customers, a workforce of 17,500 and 22,000 partners across the country. “We have been unfairly treated as we simply followed the government process. It is important to note that the order does not stop our operations for now,” the company said.
Comments
0 comment