(by Saptarishi Datta & Nikhil Pahwa) Following the Supreme Court's cancellation of 122 telecom licenses, there has been uncertainty around what will happen next. We'd reported earlier on what some of the telecom firms said following the verdict, and there was little clarity on what Telenor, which is the largest among the new telcos in terms of subscribers, will do next. 22 licenses of Uninor and three of Tata had been cancelled and a penalty of Rs 5 crore was imposed on each of the companies. Here's how they've reacted: Telenor: Telenor appears to be pushing for favorable terms in the auctions: Firstly, by threatening to exit India if the base price for spectrum is too high, as per a report in the Hindu Business Line. Sigve Brekke, head of Telenor's Asian operations wants to limit the auction only to new telecom operators, thereby trying to close the door in potential new entrants, and trying to prevent incumbents, many of whom do not have sufficient spectrum for their existing customer base, for taking part in the auction. LiveMint reports that there is political pressure being put too, which is not surprising, given that Telenor is partly owned by the Norwegian government. Alarmingly, the Mint report quotes Brekke as saying that competitors are sending out communications to Uninors retailers and distributors asking them to get customers to port, claiming that Uninor is dead. Tata Teleservices: Tata Teleservices has welcomed the acutions, and said that it has been advised to file a review petition in the…
