Nordic-based operator group Telenor wrote-down the remaining value of its business in India, noting in a statement that if a proposed spectrum issue goes forward in its current form, “it will be almost impossible to participate in the auction for Telenor.”

The company said that during the first period of the year, its Uninor venture in the country “developed according to plan.” However, following the cancellation of its licences earlier this year – along with those of many of its peers – and recent recommendations produced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Telenor said that “the uncertainty has increased significantly.”

It said that it is working with the Indian authorities to “bring forward an acceptable framework for continued operations.”

According to the Times of India, Sigve Brekke, head of Telenor’s Asian business, had said that the company’s position “is not a threat, it is a reality.”

Telenor has written-down the value of its Indian holding by an additional NOK3.9 billion/US$682 million (NOK2.6 billion after non-controlling interests). After this, it will have no further accounting exposure to India. It has already taken a charge of NOK4.1 billion related to the Indian operation.

Last week industry body the GSMA hit out at plans by the Indian regulator to set reserve prices for the country’s forthcoming 2G spectrum that are significantly higher than a controversial earlier auction. “Efforts to squeeze money out of mobile operators for some perceived short-term gain will only reduce investment in networks, inhibit growth of mobile services and drive up consumer prices – limiting the value the public will derive from the spectrum resource in the long term,” said GSMA chairman Franco Bernabè in a prepared statement.