The Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT has come down heavily on the Department of Telecom on a number of issues, including failing to take any action on mobile operators that have not fulfilled the roll-out obligations.
The Committee has asked DoT to explain as to why licences have not been cancelled despite the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
“The Committee fails to understand the inaction on the part of the Department with regards to cancellation of as many as 74 unified access service licences as recommended by the TRAI for violation of roll-out obligation. The Committee deplores the way the Department and its various wings are functioning,” the report said.
Though TRAI had suggested cancelling 74 licences, the DoT has taken a view that only 12 can be cancelled based on the definition of the roll-out obligation as specified in the licence condition.
120 licences
The Committee noted that 120 2G licences were issued in January 2008 and already more than three years have passed. During these 3 years, no action seems to have been taken to cancel the licences of defaulter licensees.
The Committee highlighted that 120 new licences with 2G spectrum were issued at a very reasonable price even then the licensees failed to meet the roll-out obligation.
“Show-cause notices were issued only during March and April, and that too in respect of only 5 or 6 licensees. The scarce resource that is spectrum remained idle with the service providers, which is a clear loss to the customer for the benefit of whom the spectrum was allocated,” the report stated.
Other issues
“What is really disappointing to note is that liquidative damages are imposed if the delay in roll out is up to 52 weeks. Beyond that neither the licences are being cancelled as provided in the agreement nor penalty charges seems to have been imposed. The Committee strongly disapprove the inaction of the Department,” it added.
Other issues raised by the Committee include resolving security concerns around BlackBerry devices. It observed that in spite of the security agencies expressing serious concern over encrypted data of BlackBerry, the Government have not been able to resolve the problem.
“The Committee are of the firm opinion that no compromise can be made when it is the question of the security of the nation. The issue need to be taken strongly with BlackBerry so that the matter is resolved,” the report said.
Pesky calls
On the issue of pesky calls from tele-marketing calls, the Committee said that the DoT has not been able to resolve the problem.
“The Department should thrash out all the problems associated with pesky calls to meet the requirements of TRAI regulations 2010,” it said.