STOCKHOLM -- Norwegian telecom operator Telenor ASA Monday warned that it won't be able to participate in the renewed auction for mobile spectrum licenses in India if it is approved by authorities in its current form.
In February, India's Supreme Court ordered a re-run of a mobile license auction originally held in 2008, after concluding it was rigged and under priced. As a consequence, Telenor's majority-owned Indian joint venture Unitech Wireless was ordered to return all 22 of its mobile licenses.
Telenor warned in a statement: "If the recommendation from TRAI [Telecom Regulatory Authority of India] in its current form should be approved by [India's] Department of Telecommunications, it will be almost impossible to participate in the auction for Telenor." It added that it is now "working actively" to bring forward an acceptable solution.
Earlier this month, India's telecommunications regulator proposed that the government open the sale to all companies when it auctions mobile-phone bandwidth. It also suggested a base auction rate that is several times more than the price at which India allotted 122 licenses and bandwidth to several companies in 2008.
Tor Odland, a spokesperson for the Norwegian-based carrier, said that the renewed auction could be too costly for Telenor to participate in.
In February, India's Supreme Court ordered a re-run of a mobile license auction originally held in 2008, after concluding it was rigged and under priced. As a consequence, Telenor's majority-owned Indian joint venture Unitech Wireless was ordered to return all 22 of its mobile licenses.
Telenor warned in a statement: "If the recommendation from TRAI [Telecom Regulatory Authority of India] in its current form should be approved by [India's] Department of Telecommunications, it will be almost impossible to participate in the auction for Telenor." It added that it is now "working actively" to bring forward an acceptable solution.
Earlier this month, India's telecommunications regulator proposed that the government open the sale to all companies when it auctions mobile-phone bandwidth. It also suggested a base auction rate that is several times more than the price at which India allotted 122 licenses and bandwidth to several companies in 2008.
Tor Odland, a spokesperson for the Norwegian-based carrier, said that the renewed auction could be too costly for Telenor to participate in.
Due to the uncertainty regarding its future operations in India, Telenor said it will make another write-down of its remaining fixed and intangible assets in India, amounting to NOK3.9 billion ($0.68 billion), meaning it will no longer have any accounting exposure related to its Indian operations.
Telenor has previously written down NOK4.2 billion in relation to licenses and goodwill in India.
India's top court earlier this month set an Aug. 31 deadline for the government to complete the renewed bandwidth auction, and allowed companies affected by the judgment to operate until Sept. 7.
At 0716 GMT shares in Telenor traded 1.8% higher at NOK101.80, against a 0.3% gain for the broader Oslo stock exchange.