Etisalat DB's mobile network collapsed across its 15 circles after Reliance Communications refused to lease out tower capacity to the company until it cleared all dues. Etisalat DB, formerly known as Swan Telecom, had taken RCom's towers on rent for locating its base stations.
Etisalat DB's network has been disrupted since Friday evening in certain pockets across all circles. The company did not name RCom for the disruptions but said that services have been hit due to network related issues “beyond our control”.
“The Etisalat DB team is working round-the-clock along with its network equipment partners to ensure the mobile services are restored at the earliest,” the company said in a statement.
Industry sources, however, said that the disruption happened due to differences that had risen between the two players over payment of dues. In July 2009, Etisalat DB had signed a deal with RCom to share its towers across 15 circles. The move was aimed at enabling Etisalat DB to roll out its network faster by outsourcing their telecom infrastructure requirements, including tower and transmission infrastructure to Reliance Infratel Limited and Reliance Communications Limited. The deal was expected to fetch revenues of Rs 10,000 crore to Reliance.
However, the ongoing investigation around 2G spectrum allotments in 2008 has hampered Etisalat DB's roll out plans. The company has rolled out network just enough to meet the roll out obligation. As on December 2011, the company had only 1.6 million subscribers even after four years of getting the licence. According to the data released by the Trai, Etisalat DB had gross revenues of just around Rs 21 crore during the quarter ended September 30, 2011. A company official had earlier told Business Line that Etisalat was intentionally going slow till the 2G investigations get completed.
Etisalat DB Telecom, a joint venture between UAE's Etisalat and Dynamix Balwas Group and operates unified service access license in 15 circles including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Mumbai, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.