Tata Tata Teleservices to surrender excess spectrum

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Tata Teleservices said it will surrender telecom spectrum beyond 2.5 mega-hertz in all circles barring Delhi and Mumbai in "protest" against government move to charge one-time fee for airwaves beyond this threshold.

The firm will retain 3.75 MHz of spectrum in Delhi and Mumbai for which it will pay a one-time fee to the government.

"Tata Teleservices, under protest and without prejudice, has intimated its decision to the Department of Telecommunications to surrender spectrum in the CDMA 800 MHz (band) beyond 2.5 MHz in all circles except Mumbai and Delhi," the company said in a statement.

"In these two metros, the company will retain one additional carrier (1.25 MHz) beyond 2.5 MHz for the balance period of licences," it added.

The government had imposed a one-time spectrum fee on telecom companies holding airwaves above 2.5 MHz in the 800 Mhz band used by CDMA operators from January 1 this year.


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DoT may ask Tata Teleservices to surrender spectrum without any condition

Telecom operator Tata Teleservices (TTL), which has approached DoT to surrender its additional CDMA spectrum in all circles except Delhi and Mumbai with some riders, may be asked to vacate the spectrum without any condition, sources said.
"We may request TTL to furnish request stating surrender of one carrier of 1.25 Mhz in all service areas, except Mumbai and Delhi, without any condition," DoT sources said.

TTL has approached DoT to surrender additional CDMA spectrum, except in Delhi and Mumbai, following government decision to charge one-time spectrum fee for the airwaves beyond the quantum that was allocated to it for starting mobile and other wireless telecom services.

The company posed a condition before DoT saying that the surrender is subject to the final outcome of their petitions before Kolkata High Court and Bombay High Court and "DoT would be bound to restore forthwith the surrendered spectrum in the event DoT actions are held invalid".

TTL has also sought time of 120 days to reorganise its CDMA network for surrendering spectrum for which DoT may ask the company to pay spectrum fee and other charges that are applicable during the period, sources said.

The one-time spectrum fee for TTL's CDMA spectrum amounted to around Rs. 1,155 crore.


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