Penalties on new operators for roll-out delay set aside
January 13th, 2012 - 6:03 pm ICT by IANS ( Leave a comment )New Delhi, Jan 13 (IANS) The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) Friday set aside the penalty imposed on new operators for the delay in rolling out their networks and asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to return the fine collected from the firms.
The penalties were imposed on new telecom companies like Etisalat DB, Videocon, Loop, Aircel and Uninor for delays in building infrastructure to start their services. The firms had got licenses for operation through the second generation (2G) spectrum allocation in 2008.
The tribunal, headed by Justice S.B. Sinha, said the DoT did not follow the “principle of natural justice” and did not give the new operators an opportunity to explain before imposing the penalty. Also, the DoT did not suffer any damages, it added.
The TDSAT asked the DoT to refund the the fine it collected from operators within four weeks and compensate the service providers by giving a 12 percent interest on the amount. The total fine DoT collected is estimated to be around Rs.300 crore.
The TDSAT’s ruling came after 70 petitions were filled by operators challenging the DoT decision. The tribunal also directed DoT to hear the operators’ views on the issue afresh.
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Tags: aircel, appellate tribunal, damages, dot decision, infrastructure, natural justice, New Delhi, new telecom, petitions, principle, second generation, service providers, sinha, spectrum allocation, tdsat, telecom companies
