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New Delhi , Sept. 4

THE Union Communications Minister, Mr Arun Shourie, has stated that he is not in favour of amending the basic service licence in order to bar multiple registration and call forwarding services of limited mobility (WLL) operators as it would "open a Pandora's box of litigations".

Speaking to presspersons on the sidelines of the India-ASEAN summit organised by CII and FICCI, Mr Shourie noted that although a final view has not been taken by the Government on the issue, the recommendation made by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to amend the licences would only lead to more uncertainty in the sector.

Reacting to the demand made by the private cellular operators that the basic operators licences ought to be amended since the WLL operators were offering "roaming" to their customers in an indirect manner, the Minister stated that the industry should never have made such a demand, knowing only too well the consequences of such a move.

In any case, he said, both the Government and the TRAI have begun independent exercises to work out the aspects of the level-playing field between the cellular and WLL operators, as sought by the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). Taking a dig at both the parties, he added that they conveniently quote only those parts of the judgement which suite their argument.

The cellular operators have themselves taken the issue of mobile switch centres (MSC), which will enforce the limits of WLL services, so they should wait for a verdict before forcing the Government to amend the licence condition. The TDSAT has reserved its judgment on the issue after hearing both the sides , and a final order is due anytime now.

"Both the cellular and WLL operators should realise that both I as well as the TRAI have read the full judgment and are aware of what the final ruling states. We have already made a detailed presentation to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Principle Secretary to Prime Minister on the work in progress. The Government has a clear view on the steps to be taken and it will do everything to bring about a level playing field," he said.

The principle on which the level-playing field conditions will be brought about will be very transparent.

As regards the additional spectrum to be allocated, all this is an interim arrangement and eventually we have to move to a Unified Licensing Regime concept, he added.

Earlier speaking at the summit, Mr Shourie said that there is a lot of synergy that can be achieved through the close cooperation of firms in India and other Asean countries.

There are still more reforms to be completed. The second-generation reforms will help further boost confidence.

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