Bharti, Vodafone and Idea on Tuesday withdrew their petition before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against the 2G recommendations of telecom regulator Trai.
These companies withdrew their petition because there was the issue about its “maintainability” as Trai had merely given its recommendations. No decision has been taken on these recommendations and the telecom department has the authority to either accept them or reject them. However, the TDSAT has given these companies the option to approach other appropriate forum for their grievance.
Trai in its latest recommendation had said that telecom operators who have spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz must pay for excess spectrum in line with the price discovered in the ongoing 3G auction. This recommendation if accepted will hit established players like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, BSNL and MTNL.