The Hindu Business Line : DoT to change norms for issuing fresh licences

The Department of Telecom is mulling to change the guidelines for issuing fresh licences to make it mandatory for applicant companies or its subsidiaries to have a clean slate before they can be considered. This means that the company which is seeking a licence or its sister firms should not have any cases pending with the DoT or other investigative authorities for any previous violations of the telecom licence agreement.

The move comes in the wake of a recent application from US-based AT&T Communications for a long distance licence.

Plugging loopholes

While one business arm of AT&T is under investigation for allegedly routing international long distance calls illegally, the existing norms do not prevent another business arm of the same company, AT&T Communication, from applying for a fresh licence. While DoT's empowered committee has in-principle decided to issue the letter of intent for a licence to AT&T, DoT sources said that measures are being thought of to plug the loophole.

At a meeting of empowered committee of DoT on September 1, DoT also decided to call for a number of documents for examination of the pending investigation against the parent company AT&T Global and speed up the inquiry.

"The investigation on the complaint against the holding company of the applicant company / 100 per cent subsidiary of the holding company is at a preliminary stage and a number of documents are to be called for and examined. The investigation on the complaint may be speeded up," said an internal DoT note prepared after the meeting that was chaired by DoT Secretary, Mr D.S. Mathur.

In order to adequately safeguard the interests of the Government, the DoT has decided to incorporate a rider in the LOI which states that the "Issue of licence to the applicant company is without prejudice to any action that may be taken as per law, including cancellation of the licence, for any violation by the applicant company or the holding company or subsidiary company of the applicant company or by any other subsidiary of its holding company."

DoT is also investigating similar cases against foreign majors such as British Telecom, Equant and MCI, who have also allegedly routed ILD calls illegally.

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