The government is planning to set up a ministerial task force on telecommunications to chart out a coherent and effective policy that will sort the persistent wranglings between cellular and basic service providers.

The idea of setting up a task force on telecom was proposed to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, who has been playing a key role in resolving the differences between cellular and wireless in local loop operators.

Recently, top industrialists, including Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal had called on Advani to express their views.

What the war is all about

Wll-based mobility Basic operators, Reliance and Tata Tele among others, want mobility. Cell firms oppose it, say the New Telecom Policy 1999 does not allow it Unified licence Shourie and basic operators believe that unified licence could be the panacea Cellular service providers oppose it on the ground that Reliance and Tata Tele will get full mobility Other issues Cell firms demand intra-circle mergers, 74% FDI cap, long-distance licences and compensation to small operators

Communications Minister Arun Shourie, too, called on Advani and Finance Minister Jaswant Singh to explain the contentious issues in the telecom sector.

The sources said the task force could be assigned to conduct a detailed study and issue guidelines. "This task force will be similar to the one set up earlier on telecom and information technology," a source in the government said.

The government's main concern, however, is not to get bogged down in what is essentially perceived as a "corporate war" among major players in the telecom industry.

The issue was referred to Advani to keep the government above board in the controversy and resolve differences, if any, even within the Cabinet, government sources said.

Advani is also learnt to have clarified that the two warring groups must take into account the national interest, particularly that of consumers and public sector units like Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.

"You must not focus on your interests only," he is reported to have told WLL and cellular operators. The implicit message in Advani's remark is that the government is conscious of safeguarding the interests of PSUs.

In a series of meetings held with industrialists, Advani is learnt to have advised them to "sit together, resolve the differences and evolve a consensus".

He told them that a "consensual" approach would help the government evolve a new growth-oriented telecom policy.

Soon after taking over as the communications minister, Shourie had attempted to resolve the tangle by bringing the two camps on the negotiating table. The effort, however, proved futile with the two sides sticking to their stands.