India's telecoms regulator plans to recommend that carriers be denied a refund of their licence fees if they lose or surrender permits, in a further blow to companies whose licences are set to be revoked after a court order. India's Supreme Court has ordered the withdrawal of 122 zonal telecoms licences awarded to eight carriers in a scandal-tainted 2008 sale. It has asked the government to reoffer the licences and radio spectrum via an open auction.
Norway's state-backed Telenor is one of the eight carriers affected, but market leaders such as Bharti Airtel and UK-based Vodafone are poised to benefit from that ruling. Under current rules, one-time entry fees paid by operators when winning licences are "non-refundable". Some of the affected operators had suggested fees be refunded, or that they be offset against any payment due as a result of the upcoming auction.
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