By Sven Grundberg
STOCKHOLM--Norwegian telecom operator Telenor ASA (TEL.OS) said
Monday it will review the terms of a much-awaited auction of
telecommunications bandwidth in India before it decides whether to
participate.
India's Department of Telecommunications Monday presented
detailed terms for the auction, which is expected to start on Nov.
12. India is auctioning the airwaves after the Supreme Court
earlier this year revoked the telecom licenses of several
companies, citing corruption in their allotment in 2008, and asked
them to return the airwaves they held.
"We will now study the conditions carefully before taking a
decision on a possible participation in the auction of new
licenses," Telenor spokesperson Tor Odland wrote in an email on
Monday.
If the final price tag for the renewed bandwidth auction is too
high, Telenor is willing to pack up and leave town, Chief Executive
Jon Fredrik Baksaas said in an earlier interview.
India's Supreme Court Monday also allowed telecom companies
affected by its order to continue operations until Jan. 18,
2013.
The order offers some respite to telecom operators, such as
Telenor and Russia's Sistema JSFC (AFKS.RS), whose operations and
billions of dollars of investments face an uncertain future after
the Supreme Court's judgment to revoke their licenses.
At 1129 GMT, shares in Telenor traded 1% higher at
NOK104.40.
Write to Sven Grundberg at sven.grundberg@dowjones.com
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