India's Supreme Court has again extended the deadline for operators whose licences were cancelled last year to continue offering services. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had applied to the court seeking an extension until it can organise a new spectrum auction, expected before the end of March. The court ruled on 14 January that the operators could continue services until 04 February, when it will continue hearing the DoT's application, news agency IANS reports. The previous deadline to end services was 18 January.
The Supreme Court's ruling in February 2012 overturned the licences of several mobile operators due to irregularities in their award under the previous government. Some of that spectrum has since been re-auctioned, and the court asked the DoT to provide it with details of the winning bidders from the auction in November 2012. The court also asked the DoT to indicate the reserve price that it would fix for the auction scheduled to be held in March, to sell the remaining spectrum. The court noted that any operators that do not secure new spectrum licences would not be allowed to continue services.
