Uninor on Thursday said that it will be almost impossible to participate in the upcoming 2G spectrum auction if its not allowed to pay the bid amount staggered over a period of 10 years.

While TRAI had recommended staggered payment, the Government is not in favour of allowing it.

"The challenge arising from upfront payments is not one of unwillingness but inability. Uninor has concluded informal discussions with several Indian banks. No bank is willing to lend such amounts upfront to a new operator to fund the spectrum costs," Uninor said.

" As a new operator, Uninor also does not have a positive cash flow to fund these costs. Further, upfront payments will create an unequal impact for new operators since in the best case scenario, a new operator will need to pay double the amount upfront to continue operations," it said.

The company, majority owned by Norway's Telenor, said that it was in a growth phase where significant funds need to be invested towards network and operations build out.

"Upfront payments will not leave us with any funds to make these investments," Uninor said. This would be a small matter for the Government to address but perhaps one of the biggest roadblock that prevents us from considering entering the auctions, the operator said.

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