Kul Bhushan

Discuss on thinkdigit forum

Posted on 06-02-2012

Comment on article

Tweet

Related Stories:

• Vodafone India announces relocation...
• TRAI gives green signal to free roaming...
• SC scraps 122 telecom licenses; over...

Promotion: Hot deals

The government has said that it will ensure subscribers are not affected much by the recent Supreme Court decision to quash 122 licenses given to the telecom companies under a scam-tainted 2008 sale. Talking to reporters, Minister of State for Communications Sachin Pilot said that the government is looking at various ways to protect customers' interests amid reports that more than 70 million mobile subscribers will be compelled to switch network. The minister pointed out that the SC has given four months of time to wrap up the operations and that will be enough time for subscribers to port out.

"Supreme Court has given four months time. From what I understand subscriber base of companies that have been impacted by 2G verdict is very minuscule. There is mobile number portability for them. So there is not much on consumer per se," the minister is quoted as saying.

The Department of Telecom (DoT), meanwhile, has said that the telecom operators can continue to provide service till four months from the date of SC verdict on 2G case. A DoT official said that the department currently was looking into the legal implications of the SC verdict.

Last week, the apex court had quashed 122 licenses of telecom operators. As many as 22 licenses of Uninor, 21 of Loop, 21 of Sistema-Shyam, 15 of Etisalat DB, six of S Tel and 21 of Videocon, along with three of the Tatas and nine of Idea Cellular were quashed. Reports had then claimed that nearly 70 million subscribers may be compelled to change their operators. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, however, had suggested the affected subscribers to switch network via the mobile number portability system.

Also read,

• SC scraps 122 telecom licenses; over 70 million subscribers to be hit
• India's telephone user base rises to 926.53 million
• Idea Cellular adds over 15 lakh new subscribers via MNP
• Tariff plans to be published in newspapers every six months: TRAI
• Prepaid mobile users to be provided call, SMS, data usage details: TRAI
• TRAI directs telcos to overhaul customer care mechanism
• BSNL joins 3G roaming pact row, accuses telcos of illegally adding subscribers
• DoT to monitor software used by mobile phone companies: Report
• Madras High Court issues notice to telecom operators on SMS rate hikes [Update]
• TRAI to recommend blocking lost, stolen mobile phones