More than a month after the department of telecommunications (DoT) agreed to grant an internet service provider (ISP) licence to Qualcomm, the company has neither the licence nor the spectrum to provide wireless broadband services.
DoT officials insist that a decision to grant the licence and broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum would be taken only after the company replies to its September 7 letter that asked it to explain the delay in applying for the same. ?We have not received any reply to our September 7 letter yet. Only once the company does so will we take a decision,? the official said. More than a year after the company paid $1 billion to the government in the BWA auction, the spat has held up rollout of services in the Indian market. This, despite department secretary R Chandrashekhar telling FE in an interview earlier that one ISP licence has been provided to the company.
The official said even if licences are given, spectrum would not be given until the company explains the delay in filing the application as per norms and investigations by the government are over.
When contacted, Qualcomm said it has received no such letter and has complied with all the norms and was waiting for spectrum. ?We have accepted DoT?s offer of a single licence covering the four circles for which we won spectrum in the auctions. Pursuant to that offer, we have met all of their requirements and formalities and are now awaiting issuance of the licence,? a spokesperson said.
The spat broke out in September when DoT cancelled its application for licences and spectrum on procedural grounds, a year after the auctions. The company moved the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, which stayed the cancellation and directed DoT not to allocate the spectrum to any other party till the matter is disposed of.
DoT claimed it had cancelled the application because it had not introduced its nominee companies to the government. Further, Qualcomm had created four nominee companies for the four circles, which DoT said was not legally valid as only one nominee company had to be created.
After the department wrote to Qualcomm on this issue, the company created a single nominee company and introduced it to the government in October. Subsequently, it decided to grant it licence while carrying on investigations as to why was there a delay on the company’s part in meeting guidelines. In fact, DoT secretary R Chandrasekhar had told FE in an interview that the decision to grant the licence had been taken.
?It’s wrong to assume that we have decided not to grant licences and spectrum to Qualcomm and that we have forfeited the money the company paid after the auctions. There are issues which have emerged with the way the company interpreted the notice inviting applications and those need to be examined, which is being done right now. Meanwhile, one ISP licence has been provided to the company,? Chandrasekhar had told FE in October.
The BWA auctions ended on June 12, 2010 and on July 13, 2010, the company was given the letter of intent. It then had three months to apply for the licence. The company did so on August 9, 2010 through four nominee companies, which were incorporated in India. On November 30 the same year, DoT asked them whether the nominee companies were nominated by it. On December 20, the clarifications were provided by the company. After a long period of silence, the DoT on September 7, 2011, intimated the company that its application has been rejected because its application was delayed.
DoT maintained that as per law ministry advice, there cannot be four nominee companies but only one, which the company then complied with. After that, DoT agreed to grant it a licence in October but which is still pending.
