Telecom newbies in launch rush

Telecom newbies in launch rush

New Delhi, Aug. 24: New telecom players are launching operations in more circles under pressure from the department of telecom (DoT) and the Prime Minister’s Office.  STel — the joint venture between Siva Group and Bahrain’s Batelco — has started services in Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya. Loop Telecom and Etisalat DB — the joint venture between the UAE-based Etisalat group and India’s Dynamix Balwas Group — have finalised rollout plans in circles where they have spectrum, sources said. Etisalat, however, has done a soft launch in all the 15 circles where it has licence under the brand name Cheers. New entrants such as Etisalat DB, Videocon, Loop Mobile, STel and Uninor, who were awarded licences in 2008, must cover at least 10 per cent of each district headquarters in every circle within the first year and complete the rollout in three years. A new operator needs to invest about Rs 22,000 crore in the first year for pan-India operations. Licensees failing to meet the deadline are levied a maximum penalty of Rs 7 crore per circle. The DoT can cancel the licence if an operator fails to fulfil the obligation even after 52 weeks of delay. According to officials, Etisalat DB is yet to commercially launch its services, while Loop Mobile, which has a pan-India licence, has started services only in Mumbai. Videocon has launched services in seven out of its 22 circles, Uninor in 13 out of 22 circles and STel in four out of six circles. Nudged by the PMO, the DoT has asked the operators to explain the delay and provide details on network rollout plans.