Facing issues with telecom towers installation: AUSPI

The Supreme Court on Wednesday struck down the call drop penalty saying TRAI's decision was "arbitrary and non-transparent", bringing in some cheer to the debt-stricken telecom companies.      Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI) Secretary General Ashok Sud said that telcos still do not have approvals to put up towers in congested places like Delhi, where even existing installed towers are under the fear of being sealed.Sud expressed his concerns over making huge investments in equipments needed for tower installation, which are lying idle and not fructifying already.He urged the government of India and municipal corporation to facilitate speedy installation of towers at reasonable fees.Below is the verbatim transcript of Ashok Sud's interview with Prerna Baruah on CNBC-TV18. Q: Can you tell us about your investments? A: We do not have the approvals for putting up towers in a place like Delhi particularly. Towers that you have -- having to pay for huge sums to the municipal corporation, which we are fighting separately in courts. Therefore for those reasons, we have a situation where we want to put up towers but for various reasons, we cannot put up towers and our investments which we have already made, our equipments are lying in godowns and are not fructifying. So therefore investments is not the only thing. Q: What is the way forward then because you are seeing investments is not the concerns here and that in terms of there is no regulatory overhang at this point in time with the Supreme Court (SC) setting aside the order. So what could be the way forward? A: The way forward would be -- we would urge to the government of India to let this pass, let this issue not be an issue anymore, the issue that we are not investing enough. I think all our members will be very happy to sit with the government, to sit with the municipal corporation, to ensure that those impediments, which are coming in our way of installing towers in the congested areas of the city. We go ahead and do that. The rules, regulations are changed in such a manner to facilitate it are being able to install towers through payment of reasonable fees. That is where we have a problem with the municipal corporation at this point of time. Such like issues which come in the way of installation of towers and I am sure the government would look into it.