SC deadline for resale of spectrum impossible, says govt

The government on Wednesday indicated that it was impossible to meet the four-month deadline set by the Supreme Court for reselling the 122 licences it cancelled on 2 February, as telecom secretary R Chandrashekhar said the auction process would take at least 400 days to complete.

"The 400-day timeline has taken into account all the decision-making involved, including establishing committees for all the decisions," Chandrasekhar said on the sidelines of a Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) gathering.

He added that completion of auction, payment and assignment of frequencies, and allocation of spectrum to successful parties have all been taken into account to arrive at this timeline, counting from the day of the judgement cancelling the licences of eight operators.

Chandrasekhar said the government is unlikely to challenge the Supreme Court decision cancelling the licences ''per se'', but added that ''all legal options that are on the table at this point" would be considered.

"By the end of this week, we expect to be able to take the key decisions,'' he added, hinting at further developments on the telecom front over the next few days.

The final approval for the national telecom policy, expected in April-May, will offer more clarity, the secretary added.