2G: RCom, Loop Telecom deny wrongdoing
17 Nov 2010
Reliance Communications today sought to deny the findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report that the company owned a 10.71-per cent stake in Swan Telecom at the time of the grant of licences while owing a separate licence to operate in the same circles.
The CAG report states that Swan Telecom, now known as Etisalat DB, also served as an effective front for Reliance Communications.
Unitech Wireless, which had no experience in the telecommunication sector, was another company that benefited enormously from the 2G allocation, according to the CAG report.
Unitech, which was allotted the licence at Rs1,661 crore, later sold a 60 per cent stake to Telenor Asia for Rs6,200 crore.
Also, according to CAG, nine companies, including Bharti, Vodafone, Idea, Reliance and Aircel, got more spectrum than what was stated in their contract.
As per the existing norms, a company bidding for the telecom spectrum should not be a shareholder having more than 10 per cent stake in another company bidding for spectrum licence.