The government today ruled out limiting the number of operators in a circle and said that any such decision would need to be reverted back to telecom regulator Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has so far considered applications for telecom licences that were received till September 25, 2007, and is yet to take a decision on those that came between September 25 and October 1. This had led to widespread speculation that the applications after September 26 would not be taken up at all and there would be a cap in that sense.
Speculation got reinforced because of the scarcity of spectrum and there being about 12 players in circles (once new telcos start operations), which offers sufficient competition.
"We have not taken such a decision.... I don't think the Telecom Commission has taken such a decision (either). If at all, it again has to be referred to Trai. I never asked the Commission to deliberate on the issue," Telecom Minister A Raja said.
The DoT had received 575 applications, of which 343 were filed between September 26 and the cutoff date of October 1, 2007.
There were 24 applicants in this period including AT&T, DLF, Moser Baer, Ispat, and Sterlite. A total of 46 companies had applied for telecom licences.
Licences are given on a first-come-first-served basis.