Uninor moves SC against 2G auctioning

Telecom giant Uninor on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court against the TRAI recommendations for auctioning spectrum licences cancelled by it saying it is designed to favour old players in the sector.

Appearing before a bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi, the firm submitted that the auctioning process framed by the telecom regulator is not in line with the apex court order, which had cancelled their licences.

"The effect of the TRAI’s Recommendation on Auction dated April 23, 2012 is to artificially restrict the supply of spectrum and thus distort the price. 122 UAS licenses are being cancelled with 4-6 operators in each circle being impacted, whereas as per the TRAI recommendations only the best, one new operator will be able to get spectrum," Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi submitted.

The bench after hearing his arguments agreed to hear his plea and allowed him to file an application.

"The effect of the TRAI’s Recommendations on Auction would be that no new operator would be able to successfully bid in the auction, thereby reducing the amount of revenue the GOI could have obtained if more spectrum was auctioned and more players could participate. Auction design is such that old operators can outbid new players," the company submitted.