Spectrum crunch may force DoT to spike fresh LoIs

NEW DELHI: The department of telecom (DoT) is unlikely to consider applications for telecom licences received between September 26 and October 1 on the grounds of unavailability of radio frequency. A senior DoT official said nothing will happen to those applications as the department does not have spectrum. Prominent among the companies who applied in this period are US major AT&T and real estate giant DLF, realty company BPTP, Sterlite and Moser Baer.

It also could not be ascertained if DoT will write to these companies asking them to withdraw their applications citing the spectrum scarcity. Industry sources said since the government had set a cut-off date first till October 1, on legal and technical grounds it cannot ask the companies to withdraw their applications. All it can do is to sit over the applications indefinitely giving the signal of no issuance of LoIs.

As per its decision, DoT will issue to LoIs to 120 applicants applied on or before September 25, 2007.