InfoAnda - India court orders licenses cancelled in telecom scandal |

Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They

Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
Thursday, August 6, 2009

AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e

Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
Thursday, September 3, 2009

By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German

Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who

Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an

Venezuela reduces oil production | 8 January 2009
Hewlett-Packard profit up 25 percent in first quarter | 18 February 2010
At least 207 missing in Brazil floods, 727 dead | | 20 January 2011

Yahoo! News | 11 January 2011

Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

Read more with google mobile : India court orders licenses cancelled in telecom scandal |

Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Davos 2012 Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Summits Business Video The Freeland File Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Election 2012 Issues 2012 Candidates 2012 Tales from the Trail Political Punchlines Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Bernd Debusmann Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus David Cay Johnston Bethany McLean Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Mohamed El-Erian Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Geraldine Fabrikant Jack & Suzy Welch Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Editor's Choice Analysis: Facebook's daunting Asian challenge Sony sees $2.9 billion loss, new CEO warns Hacked companies still not telling investors Angelic "Steve Jobs" loves Android in Taiwan TV ad Birth control recall raises risk of unplanned pregnancy Judge: health labels may stem tobacco co rights Europe freeze kills 89, fears rise over Russian gas Opinion: IPOverload, Facebook goes public Video: Red flags in the Facebook S1 filing Slideshow: Facebook, tagged at new HQ Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read After Florida win, Romney stumbles in comments on poor | 7:06am EST Israel says Iran has material for four A-bombs 9:45am EST Egyptians incensed after 74 die in soccer tragedy | 10:20am EST U.S. plans to halt Afghan combat role early | 8:15am EST Facebook's Zuckerberg to keep iron grip after IPO | 8:08am EST Discussed 145 U.S. outrage as Egypt bars Americans from leaving 90 Romney wins Florida Republican presidential primary 79 Taliban ”poised to retake Afghanistan” after NATO pullout Watched Beckham unveils underwear for H&M Wed, Feb 1 2012 Iran sends toy drone to Obama Sun, Jan 29 2012 At least 73 killed in Egypt soccer riot Wed, Feb 1 2012 India court orders licenses cancelled in telecom scandal Tweet Share this Email Print Factbox India top court orders 2008 telecom licenses be quashed 5:09am EST Analysis & Opinion Lawyers for latest acquitted FCPA defendants: DOJ ‘overreaching’ Chevron opinion doesn’t go its way Related Topics Tech » Regulatory News » By Devidutta Tripathy NEW DELHI | Thu Feb 2, 2012 7:59am EST NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's Supreme Court ordered on Thursday telecoms licenses issued under a scandal-tainted 2008 sale be revoked, striking a decisive blow against corruption that plagues the country and roiling the world's second biggest cellular market. The ruling applies to 122 licenses held by eight operators but potentially affects fewer than 5 percent of users in a fiercely competitive market crowded with more than a dozen players. Market leaders such as Bharti Airtel and British-based Vodafone, which last month scored a big win when the Supreme Court ruled it was not liable for $2.2 billion in tax, are poised to benefit from the ruling. The licenses affected include those held by Unitech Wireless, a joint venture of Norway's state-backed Telenor and Indian real estate firm Unitech, which has been the most aggressive of the newer operators and had more than 36 million subscribers in the country as of December. "We have been unfairly treated as we simply followed the government process we were asked to," the Telenor joint venture, which operates as Uninor, said in a statement. "We are shocked to see that Uninor is being penalized for faults the court has found in the government process," it said. Telenor shares fell 3.67 percent in Oslo. Affected license holders can operate for four months, during which regulators will come up with new market rules. Freed-up spectrum will be auctioned, which could bring a multi-billion dollar windfall to a deficit-strapped government. The ruling is an embarrassment for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government, which oversaw the sale of the licenses at below-market prices, costing the exchequer as much as $36 billion in lost revenues and leading to political gridlock. The telecoms scandal is the biggest of several that have emerged during Singh's second term and triggered street protests last year. "It is a historic judgment. It is trying to break a corrupt nexus between business and politics," said political analyst Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, who was one of petitioners in the case. Two ministers, including former telecoms minister Andimuthu Raja who presided over the 2008 grant process, have resigned. Raja is in jail awaiting trial. While the ruling may revive investor worries about the uncertainty of doing business in Asia's third-biggest economy, it could also build confidence in the role of the judiciary and broader efforts to crack down on corruption. "This is one step closer to transparency in policy-making," said Kamlesh Bhatia, research director at Gartner in Mumbai. BIG PLAYERS BENEFIT India is the world's second-largest cellular market by subscribers, with 894 million at the end of December, although fierce competition means call rates are among the lowest. Investors and operators have long called for consolidation in the crowded industry, and Thursday's ruling stands to benefit the country's biggest operators. "This verdict is good news for established incumbent operators and in the short term, we are likely to see some increase in tariffs," said Benoy C.S., a director at consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. Shares in Bharti, the world's fifth-largest carrier by subscribers, ended 6.8 percent higher while Idea gained 3 percent, reversing earlier losses. Unitech fell 7 percent. Carriers whose licenses were ordered revoked include those of the local joint ventures of Abu Dhabi's Etisalat and Russia's Sistema, as well as Telenor. "For foreign investors, it is very bad news. What mistake did they do? They partnered with Indian companies, invested lots of money and followed the process of that time," said Rishi Sahai, director at consultancy Cogence Advisors. Affected companies are expected to fight the verdict. Sistema's India unit said it "reserves the right to protect its interests by using all available judicial remedies". India's big operators crave more bandwidth to accommodate surging usage in the country of 1.2 billion, so if the spectrum is auctioned it could command a premium. The state auditor has said the spectrum bundled with the 122 licenses would be worth $22.7 billion at the price paid in the 3G auction in 2010, although 2G spectrum is likely to command a lower price. "Whether this auction will be opened for all operators or will be open only for the people whose licenses are being cancelled -- that will determine the demand-supply equation," said Ashish Basil, a partner in Ernst & Young's telecom group. BATTERED IMAGE India's image as an investment destination was dented over the past year as the economy slowed, government reforms stalled and the telecoms scandals along with high profile graft cases heightened concerns about government policies. "This is a collective failure of the government of India," Subramanian Swamy, an opposition politician and also a petitioner in the case, said following the ruling. In declaring the licenses "illegal and quashed," the court said in its ruling that the process of awarding them "was wholly arbitrary, capricious and contrary to public interest apart from being violative of the doctrine of equality". Police have charged six companies and 19 people, among them a billionaire owner of the Essar Group; top executives of Telenor's and Etisalat's India ventures and three from billionaire Anil Ambani's Reliance Group. Executives arrested in the telecoms case have been released on bail. Telenor and Etisalat say the case should not involve them because the licenses were issued before they bought into the Indian market. Other owners of licenses ordered cancelled include Loop Telecom Pvt Ltd; Videocon Telecommunications, part of India's Videocon group; and S-Tel, part-owned by Batelco. Thirteen licenses held by Idea, of which it is using seven, and three by Tata Teleservices are also affected. (Additional reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh and Mumbai newsroom; Writing by Tony Munroe and Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Robert Birsel) Tech Regulatory News Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above. Edition: U.S. Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Advertise With Us Connect with Reuters Twitter Facebook LinkedIn RSS Podcast Newsletters Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

Other News on Thursday, 2 February 2012
More than 70 die in Egyptian soccer pitch invasion |
Nigeria militant spokesman arrested
Rival Libyan militias fight gunbattle in capital |
Sit-tight rulers risk African Spring: Nobel Laureate Soyinka |
IBM planning major job cuts in Germany: union |
EA revenue rises, sells 2 million units of Star Wars |
Facebook execs gear up political influence arm |
Nokia revamp to hurt most of 2012 results-Chairman |
Senate panel to look at Verizon spectrum deals |
Washington D.C. steps back from Internet gambling launch |
Amy Winehouse coroner not qualified: UK media |
Filmmaker arrested during House hearing on shale gas |
Kodak requests name be removed from Oscars venue |
Opry stage that once held Cash and Presley to be replaced |
It's Ex-Factor for Abdul, Scherzinger, Jones |
Russia says will veto unacceptable Syria resolution |
Egypt soccer violence kills 74, fans turn on army |
U.S. plans to halt Afghan combat role early, Kabul surprised |
Kidnapped aid workers released in Yemen, 5 militants dead |
Europe freeze kills 89, fears rise over Russian gas |
ArcelorMittal says one dead in French factory blast |
Kuwait opposition seen making gains in snap election |
China to ask South Sudan for help on kidnapped workers: report |
IAEA, Iran to meet again after good talks |
Facebook's Zuckerberg to keep iron grip after IPO |
Analysis: Facebook IPO tests easy growth assumptions |
Timeline: From dorm room to Nasdaq: Facebook's meteoric ascent |
Angelic Steve Jobs loves Android in Taiwan TV ad |
New Sony CEO to confront scale of turnaround task as loss looms |
Elpida posts worse than expected quarterly loss |
Qualcomm handily beats Street, shares rise |
EA sells 2 million units of Star Wars, shares up |
Soul Train creator Don Cornelius commits suicide |
Avatar's Cameron buys up land in NZ hobbit country |
Lisa Marie Presley opens new Elvis exhibit |
L.A. contemporary artist Mike Kelley found dead |
Polish Nobel winning poet Szymborska dies at 88 |
Exclusive: U.S. and allies exploring prospects for Assad exile |
Israel says Iran has material for four A-bombs |
Greek PM seeks to force pledges of more austerity |
Portuguese strike flops, workers fear for jobs |
Seized cash triggers political furor in Mexico |
Taliban return seen unlikely threat in reshaped Afghanistan |
Palestinians throw shoes, stones at U.N. convoy |
Analysis: Facebook's daunting Asian challenge |
Timeline: From dorm room to Nasdaq: Facebook's meteoric ascent |
Sony sees $2.9 billion loss, new CEO warns of pain |
Intel CFO faces fewer worried investors |
Exclusive: Hacked companies still not telling investors |
India court orders licenses cancelled in telecom scandal |
AU Optronics: forms strategic alliance with Idemitsu |
Will Smash splash or crash for NBC? |
Egyptian film star sentenced for insulting Islam |
Tom Stoppard, beneficiary of the subconscious |
Lung cancer forces Wild Thing singer to retire |
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
AMD to Start Production of piledriver
Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

USD EUR - 1 year graph	VPN on MacOSX	BlogMeter 1.01