DoT starts licensing exercise

Kick starting the process of allotting new telecom licences, the government on Tuesday sought clarifications from all the applicants on as many as 25 issues relating to eligibility criteria.

The department of telecom (DoT) has asked all the companies to submit by December 13, clarifications, information or supporting documents as on date of application.

After scrutinising the information furnished by companies, DoT would start issuing Letters of Intent (LoIs) to the eligible applicants, a move that has been opposed strongly by the existing GSM service providers.

The DoT has also permitted the companies to furnish latest status of any change with regard to clarifications, a move which would enable many among the 46 companies to become eligible.

According to sources, some of the companies had not amended their Article of Association incorporating telecom services as one of their activities and this could have gone against the eligibility criteria as on October 1, 2007, the last date of application.

DoT is considering issuing licenses initially to companies that had applied till September 25, 2007, a date on which the government announced October 1, 2007 as the last date for receiving applications.

"The Unified Access Service License (UASL) guidelines dated 14.12.2005 and subsequent guidelines of FDI in telecom sector as per Press Note 3 (2007 series) issued by Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion shall prevail," DoT said in its communication.