M A I N   N E W S

Unfairly penalised, say 2G-hit telcos
Girja Shankar Kaura/TNS

New Delhi, March 3
Having filed their review petitions in the Supreme Court against the apex court order of February 2 cancelling the 122 licences issued during the tenure of former Telecom Minister A Raja, the two affected startup telcos are of the view that the verdict has severe consequences for them and their stakeholders.

Telecom operators Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd (SSTL) and Uninor are of the view that they have been unfairly penalised. The review petitions were filed yesterday by the two operators within days of them seeking protection from the Indian government.

Sistema said it had sent a formal notice to the government notifying it of a dispute “under the bilateral investment treaty (BIT) between the government of the Russian Federation and the Indian government arising from the decision of the Supreme Court.”

Sistema, in which the Russian Government holds a majority stake, in turn, has 56.68 per cent share in SSTL. Besides, the Russian Government directly owns 17 per cent share in SSTL.

The SSTL, in its statement, said: "The company believes that it is being unfairly penalised for acting in good faith and in reliance on the appropriateness of the procedures established by India's telecommunications authorities." On the other hand, Uninor said its petition points to certain material facts and information that were not before the Supreme Court in further justification of the review.

“A key basis on which the SC cancelled Uninor's licences was the conclusion that the award of licences was unilateral, arbitrary and capricious owing to a lack of consultation within Indian authorities,” it said.

“New and important material suggests that there was a well thought out, bona fide and collective decision by key people in the government in the public interest for granting the startup spectrum within the entry fee of Rs 1,658 crore," added the firm.

The Norwegian Telecom firm Telenor which holds the majority stake in Uninor has also moved the Company Law Board against its joint venture partner Unitech. It holds 67 per cent share in the joint venture.

SSTL said being a CDMA operator, its case is different as compared to other affected operators. "There is no finding or suggestion by the CAG report that CDMA spectrum was equally or anywhere near in demand as GSM...In light of our commitment to continue our pan-Indian operations...We have filed for a review of the said judgment before the SC," SSTL president and CEO Vsevolod Rozanov said.