On Saturday, more than 18 lakh customers were left in the lurch after their phones went silent after telecom operator Uninor closed its services in the city following the Supreme Court’s order on Friday, which said that “telecom firms which were unsuccessful in availing fresh 2G spectrum, and those which did not participate in the auction process, will cease to operate forthwith”.

A statement issued by the company read: “Uninor had no choice but to follow the court’s order. On Friday, the Supreme Court ordered mobile operators that had not won spectrum to close down immediately. Uninor managed to send SMSes to all its subscribers before closing down its network due to the court order.”