The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has ordered operators Etisalat DB and S Tel to reactivate their mobile services within three days, after they shut down their networks in response to a Supreme Court decision to cancel 122 2G licences, reports Business Line.

The regulator said that these firms illegally shut down their networks as they should have continued to deliver the services until the Indian government actually cancels the licences on 2 June.

In response operators said the order from the TRAI is illegal as they were already complying with the Supreme Court’s order in February to cancel 2G licences after they were issued under controversial circumstances in 2008.

The court ruled that the 2008 award of these licences had been “totally arbitrary and unconstitutional.” The administration at the time – led by disgraced former telecoms minister A Raja – is accused of selling-off the 2G licences on a first-come-first served basis and potentially costing the country the billions it would have made if it had conducted a competitive bidding auction.

However, TRAI officials said the conditions of the licences stipulate that operators must maintain the quality of service even during a period in which the termination of the licence is pending. The Supreme Court ruling allowed operators to continue offering their 2G services for a further four months, meaning they should be available until 2 June.

The regulator also said that the operators failed to give the necessary 60 days’ notice to customers before terminating services.
Several other operators, such as Loop Telecom, have announced they will stop offering their services in India and the TRAI said it would issue similar orders to those companies.

The Supreme Court last week quashed an appeal by operators – including Uninor, Idea Cellular, Etisalat DB and S Tel – calling for it to review its decision to cancel the 2G licences.

Despite there being a new auction for 2G licences in the pipeline, some foreign players – including UAE-based Etisalat and Bahrain’s Batelco, which owns S Tel – have already announced they plan to exit the Indian market.