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The Government has issued licence termination notices to three telecom operators - Aircel, D B Etisalat and Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) for delays in roll-out of services in eight circles.
Most of the new players which received 2G licences in 2008 have not met roll-out obligations. Some of them are under the scanner of various investigative agencies, including the CBI and Parliamentary panels.
“In all, 17 notices have been issued for delay in roll-out of services. They include Aircel, SSTL — three circles each and D B Etisalat (earlier known as Swan Telecom) — two circles,” said a Department of Telecom official.
60 days to respond
The operators now have been given 60 days to respond as to why their licences should not be terminated for failure to roll out networks, as per the licence conditions.
Earlier, 119 notices were issued and the government has collected over Rs 300 crore in penalties.
Operating under MTS brand, SSTL is a joint venture between Shyam Group and Russia-based Sistema. It has launched CDMA voice and data services in 22 telecom circles, with 10 million subscribers.
Delay in rollout
However, it has been issued termination notices for the delay in rollout.
Aircel is the market leader in Tamil Nadu, Assam, North-East and Chennai, but its service roll-outs were also behind schedule. Aircel is a pan-India operator with a presence across 23 circles.
Etisalat DB Telecom, a joint venture between Etisalat and Sahid Balwa-promoted D B Group, has licences in 15 circles, including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, and Karnataka.
According to the rules, the licensees were required to offer services in 90 per cent of their service areas in metros and 10 per cent in district headquarters within 12 months from the date of award of licence.
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