TRAI recommends cancellation of 38 telecom licences

The telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has recommended the government to cancel 38 2G licences, including some held by Telenor, Sistema and Etisalat’s Indian ventures, a government statement said on Friday. Minister of state for telecom Sachin Pilot told lawmakers in the Rajya Sabha that the regulator had recommended cancelling 31 other telecom licences after legal examination, the statement added.
Government officials have earlier said the Trai had recommended cancelling some licences as the companies had not met network rollout obligations. On Thursday, telecom minister Kapil Sibal had said his ministry would send notices to the companies by the end of this week asking them to explain why their licences should not be cancelled.