(Telecompaper) Sistema Shyam TeleServices, operator of the MTS India network, announced it will halt services in 10 regions, pending the acquisition of new spectrum licences in the planned auction next month. SSTL's licences were among those canceled by the Supreme Court in India last year. The company did not bid for new spectrum in the auction last November, as it was awaiting the outcome of an appeal against the court ruling. With the Supreme Court's latest ruling that all operators with canceled licences must halt services, MTS is forced to advise customers to port their numbers to new service providers. This affects customers in the circles Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, North East, Orissa and Punjab. SSTL said it is preparing to bid in the auction next month, and the government has confirmed the company will be able to set off previous licence costs against the new auction prices. The operator said less than 10 percent of its workforce was employed in the ten affected circles, and it will attempt to redeploy this staff elsewhere in the group or at other companies. SSTL has a customer base of over 14 million, of which less than 15 percent come from the impacted circles.