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| A year's wait for BSNL to get BWA surrender cash |
| Friday, 15 June 2012 | |
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BSNL was hoping for a refund of Rs 8,000 crore after the government accepted its request for surrendering its broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum in 20 circles, BSNL would now have to wait for more than a year to get the money back. This is because the department of telecommunications (DoT) has decided that only after the surrendered spectrum is auctioned would it pay the company back, depending on the proceeds from the spectrum sale. The next round of auctions for BWA spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band, which BSNL has surrendered, has not yet been planned by the government. The delay in the refund would mean that BSNL would not be able to factor in the amount in its results for the fiscal 2011-12, during which it is expected to post a net loss of around Rs 7,000 crore. This would be third consecutive year of the company posting losses. Since the auction of BWA spectrum is unlikely in the current fiscal, the company may not be able to factor in the amount even in the current year’s books. The auctions for BWA spectrum were held in 2010 and the government had netted Rs 38,617 crore through the process. State-owned operators like MTNL and BSNL had not participated in the bids and were allocated the spectrum ahead of their private sector peers. After the auction, they had paid the bid price as per the government guideline. Finding the operations unviable, BSNL had last year written to DoT that it would like to surrender the spectrum in certain circles. Though the bid documents did not have the provision for surrendering the spectrum and getting a refund, telecom secretary R Chandrasekhar had then told that being a government-run company that was not doing well, a sympathetic view would be taken on the request, reported the Financial Express. Company officials expressed unhappiness at the government’s stance of paying it back only when the surrendered spectrum is auctioned and amount realized. “Getting into 3G and BWA was not the company’s decision as was the case with other private sector operators. It was the government which decided on our behalf and made us pay. So it should refund the amount to us upon surrendering rather than wait for the amount to be realized through an auction later,” said a BSNL official. –Communications Today Bureau |
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