Telenor to fight against 2G-license cancellation

Europe Sun (ANI) Monday 6th February, 2012

Norway's telecom company, Telenor has planned to appeal against the Supreme Court order to cancel 22 telecom licenses held by its Indian joint venture, Uninor.

Sigve Brekke, the head of the company's Asian operations made the comments on Monday in New Delhi, stating his dismay over the decision.

"I am upset and the reason for that is that we have not done anything wrong. What happened before 2008 and in January 2008 was way before we came in. The Supreme Court has now said that the government policy was wrong and it's absolutely nothing that we have anything to do with," said Brekke.

Brekke added that the Court's orders were likely to hit potential foreign investors from opening up shop in India.

"Now, the 14,000 crores, we have been asked to just forget it, because India in hind sight has changed its mind, is that fair? I don't think so. Is it fair that we have been asked to lose all the 14,000 crores and go home because someone has changed their mind? I don't think that is fair. And this is going to impact foreign investment, not only ourselves. Think of what foreigners will think when they will invest in Indian business, if you cannot trust the rules and the conditions for your investment," added Brekke.

The Supreme Court had last week ordered all 122 licenses issued under a scandal-tainted 2008 sale be revoked in four months and asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to propose rules for grant of license and spectrum through an auction.

Brekke said Telenor would decide on bidding for the planned spectrum auction after reviewing criteria and the reserve price, adding that the auction should be restricted only to those players who got licenses in 2008.

He also played down the possibility of closing its operations in India.

"We do not plan to roll over and die. We came here to stay, we came here with a long-term commitment, and we came here with a long-term view and that is exactly what we have to do also," said Brekke.

Telenor entered India in 2008 by taking a majority stake in a nascent mobile phone operator founded by Indian real estate company Unitech.

Telenor owns 67.25 percent of the joint venture, with Unitech holding the remainder.

The joint venture, which operates under the Uninor brand, has been the most aggressive of the newer telecoms companies in India and has close to 40 million customers, or more than four percent share of the market of 894 million.

Telenor, majority-owned by the Norwegian government, has said Norway is monitoring the situation in India and would help it find a solution to protect its investments in India. (ANI)