The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has rejected Vodafone India’s application to renew licences in three circles that are due for renewal in 2014.
“Vodafone is deeply disappointed with the summary rejection of its request for extension of its licences in the Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata service areas by DoT. This decision is against the interests of several million of our customers in these cities/circles,” the company said in a statement late on Friday evening.
“Vodafone has also been consistently contributing several crores in revenue to the national exchequer. Clearly, in DoT’s opinion, these aspects are not important for determining expediency,” it added.
The incumbent GSM operator had received licences in 1994 with 20-year tenures. In December 2013, Vodafone India had sought extensions for three telecom licences — Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata — expiring in November 2014.
In February, the company had moved the Delhi High Court challenging DoT’s decision to auction the 900 MHz spectrum that it holds.