DoT moots additional recoveries for 2G allocation

Even as telecom companies gird up for a fresh legal battle, it has become clear that the department of telecommunications (DoT) will not immediately cancel any of the telecom licences and spectrum given to operators in January 2008, but is looking to ensure that losses made due to faulty controls prior to 2008 be rectified as much as possible.

It may also consider imposing financial penalties on licensees who have failed to meet rollout obligations.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had earlier recommended suo motu (without DoT having referred the matter to the regulator) that over 60 licences held by various telecom companies for 2G services be cancelled. The regulator wrote to DoT secretary R Chandrasekhar pointing out that these licences should be cancelled due to non-compliance of rollout obligations.

However, the DoT is unlikely to do this. ''We cannot cancel the licences based on the procedure followed by the government at the time. We are, however, looking at whether it is possible to discover a new price for the licences.

This will be higher, so we will have to ask the operators to pay the difference,'' a DoT official was quoted as saying anonymously. ''There is scope for renegotiation of the licences, and we will make every effort to get back the money that the government has lost.'' Other DoT officials echoed this view.

According to TRAI data on subscriber numbers as of end -August, Videocon, Etisalat DB and Loop had no or negligible subscribers in a majority of the circles they held.