New telcos are still kept in dark about the weather DoT, Department of Telecommunication is considering refund of the 2G spectrum money to new telecom operators who have not been able to commence their service.
It has been reported that option of exit is being discussed and debated by the Telecom commission, especially for the telecom operators who have not yet been able to roll out their services full fledged after being allotted the 2G spectrum. The Telecom commission which is part of the Ministry of Telecommunication is the decision making authority in this issue. The government might likely to offer a refund for the money that these telecom operates paid for acquisition of the 2G spectrums in January 2008 once they surrendered the 2G spectrums back to the government. This was confirmed by a senior official in the Ministry who preferred to remain un named.
Swan Telecom is one of the new telecom operators in this growing sector who has approached DoT, Department of
Telecommunications with a request to surrender their spectrum and license and receive a refund of the entry fee that they had paid in 2008 for operations across the country.
The 2G spectrum was offered to several budding telecom companies in 2008 by the Indian Government. However given the current market dynamics and it has been noted that India has a higher number of telecom operators when compared to other countries and this has lead to intense competitions between these companies in terms of the lowest tariffs. The falling ARPUs are also a growing concern. All these issues have made it for new entrants to enter the already cluttered market and make a mark for themselves and hence they have stalled their roll out plans indefinitely.
Once all the feasible options are considered, the Telecom commission would take a decision on this burning issue at hand.



