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In a breather to Qualcomm, the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on Wednesday stayed the Department of Telecom’s decision to cancel the US firm's broadband licences.
Passing an interim order, the tribunal bench headed by its chairman, Justice S B Sinha, restrained the Department of Telecom (DoT) from allotting the BWA spectrum earmarked for Qualcomm to any other operator till further orders. The TDSAT also stayed the government from forfeiting the bid amount of Rs 4,900 crore paid by Qualcomm to the DoT in the BWA auction last year.
DoT has been asked to file a reply to Qualcomm's plea within two weeks, TDSAT posted the matter for next hearing on October 20.
Qualcomm had filed a petition challenging the DoT's notice of cancellation of spectrum allotment in four circles that the US chipmaker had won in the auction held last year.
The DoT has refused to allocate spectrum and licence to the company on grounds that the subsidiary companies which applied for licences were not introduced by Qualcomm Inc before the stipulated 90-day period after the auction.
It has also taken a view that Qualcomm cannot be given four different licences for each of the circles where it had won spectrum.
Qualcomm had won broadband spectrum in four circles of Mumbai Delhi, Kerala and Haryana on June 12, 2010. The company then floated four companies by the name of Wireless Broadband Services and approached the DoT for different licences in each circle.
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