DoT holds Tata bid for 7 basic licences

The department of telecommunications has put on hold Tata Teleservices' application for seven new basic services licences under the unified access regime.

This puts paid, at least for some time, the company's hopes of becoming a nationwide mobile operator. Tata Teleservices has eight licences now.

Senior officials in the department said the government would not accept any fresh applications for offering cellular or basic telecom services till guidelines were in place for allowing new players in the sector. The Tatas could apply afresh once the new guidelines were finalised, they added.

The Tatas had applied for seven more licences after the Cabinet decided to merge cellular and basic telecom licences.

The company had sought licences for starting operations in West Bengal, Kolkata, Uttar Pradesh (east), Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Orissa and Himachal Pradesh.

If cleared, the Tatas would have been able to offer cellular services in 16 circles, including Kolkata.

But now, the company will have to confine its operations to Maharashtra, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi and Gujarat.

The company is also set to convert its limited mobility licence in these circles by paying an entry fee of Rs 545 crore (Rs 5.45 billion), which was worked out by the department of telecommunications.