Vodafone yet to get spectrum itwon in November auction

Writes to DoT seeking immediate
allocation or compensation
Vodafone India, which had won 2G
spectrum in 14 circles in the
recently concluded auction, is yet
to be allotted the airwaves, even
after paying the fee in November.
The company has written to the
Department of Telecom (DoT),
raising concerns about the undue
delay in allocation of spectrum.
Vodafone had participated in
the1800 MHz auction held in
November 2012 and acquired
spectrum in 14 service areas at an
auction price of Rs 1,128 crore.
Vodafone had chosen to pay the
money through the deferred
payment route — 30 per cent of
the bid amount upfront and the
balance in instalments.
In its communication to the DoT,
the operator said that despite the
payments made, spectrum has not
been allocated as the airwaves
were still being used by players
whose licences were cancelled by
the Supreme Court based on the
February 2012 order.
Deadline extended
However, as the court has
repeatedly extended the deadline
for cancelling licences, the
spectrum is still with the players
who were allocated the same after
January 10, 2008. For instance,
operators such as IDEA, Videocon
and Uninor are on the same
frequency band in the Assam,
Haryana, J&K and Orissa circles,
awarded to Vodafone in the
November 2012 auction.
The impasse has been caused
because the DoT had asked the
court to extend the deadline for
cancelling 2G licences.
As per the earlier plan, the auction
was to end by December and the
earlier allocation cancelled by
January. While the auction was held
on time, the cancellation deadline
has now been extended till March
11. In addition, DoT proposes to
collect a fee from players holding
the spectrum with effect from
December 19, 2012, even though
Vodafone has already paid for the
same spectrum. Vodafone said that
this is tantamount to double
payment to and unjust enrichment
of the DoT.
Vodafone has told the DoT that to
compensate the operator for this
delay, the period of 20 years (for
which the licensee has the right to
use the acquired spectrum) should
be reckoned from the date of
actual allotment of the spectrum.

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