Idea offers to pay entry fee for pending licences

NEW DELHI: Birla group company Idea Cellular has asked the government not to "manipulate" the priority list of allocating spectrum and offered to pay Rs 993 crore toward entry fee and other charges for its pending nine licences.

"Please note that any manipulation of initial spectrum allocation priority, achieved through the device of manipulation of dates of payment demands, would constitute an assault on government policy," the company said in a letter to telecom secretary D S Mathur.

It asked the DoT to issue long-overdue nine letters of intent, for which application was made in June 2006.

Sources, however, said DoT may not be able to issue LoIs to companies who have challenged the policy of the government in telecom tribunal TDSAT and then in the Delhi High Court.

As per the guidelines of Unified Access Service (UAS) license, DoT should have issued the LoIs 18 months ago. "We have blocked financial resources since, but have been prevented from effecting payment solely because the DoT has not issued the LoIs as per specified timelines," it added.

Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Karnataka, Punjab, Orissa, West Bengal, Kolkata, Assam, North-east and Jammu and Kashmir are the nine circles for which LoIs are pending.

"We confirm we wish to effect payment of Rs 684.59 crore toward License Entry Fee, and furnish financial and performance bank guarantees of Rs 220 crore and Rs 88 crore respectively. These are against the LoIs due to us," Rajat Mukarji, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Idea Cellular, said in the letter.