Telecom tribunal TDSAT on Thursday quashed the direction of the Department of Telecom that imposed penalty on the Aditya Birla group firm Idea Cellular for failing to roll out the services on time.

Allowing Idea's petition, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) set aside the demand notice issued by DoT. In January, TDSAT had directed Idea to pay 60 per cent of the penalty imposed by DoT.

DoT had sent notices to several firms that got new 2G licences bundled with start-up spectrum in 2008, but they have not started offering services in various circles.

As per the conditions of the Unified Access Service Licence (UASL), the telecom companies are required to roll out their networks within a year from the date of allocation of spectrum.

According to the agreement, in case new licencees fail to roll out services within the stipulated period, DoT shall be entitled to recover liquidation damages. This was challenged by Idea in the TDSAT. Idea Cellular had approached TDSAT for one circle of West Bengal.