NEW DELHI: The GSM mobile operators’ lobby COAI on Thursday approached the telecom tribunal TDSAT against government’s directive to re-verify their existing prepaid connections in Assam and North East Service Areas.
Opposing such guidelines, the Cellular Operators Association of India has said that such circular was issued by government “without any application of mind” and “in a totally casual manner” and has simply extended the guidelines of J&K Service Area to Assam and North East Service Areas.
The GSM lobby group further submitted that DoT’s Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) has imposed penalty on them.
According to COAI, as per the circular, certificates issued by Village Panchayat Head or its equivalent authority and caste and domicile certificates with photograph issued by state governments were not included in the list.
Moreover, Voters Identity Cards issued before 2008 were also kept outside the list.
During the proceedings, the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal bench headed by Justice S B Sinha has asked operators to file their individual pleas along with details in this issue. The TDSAT has directed to list COAI’s petition on January 17 for next hearing.
Issuing a circular, last year, the Department of Telecom had directed all the telecom operators from the NE region to re-verify existing pre-paid connections.
This was done due to apprehensions raised by the security establishment over militants using phones for their subversive activities with pre-paid connections, which are available easily.
The telecom companies are fearing that it may result into loss of a huge chunk of their 20 million-odd customer base in the northeast region.
According to COAI, DoT had just extended the scope of its its own circular of January 20, 2010 to Assam and North East Telecom Service Areas in which strict conditions were imposed while granting pre-paid connection in J&K Service Area.
“It is submitted that while extending such guidelines DoT failed to notice that these guidelines had been issued keeping the peculiar conditions applicable only to J&K in mind. They could not therefore, without proper modification, be applied in case of Assam and North East Service Areas,” said COAI.
It further said that DoT asked its Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cell to verify and impose penalty over the operators, which has issued connections on the basis of certificate of identity/address issued by Village Panchayat Head and caste and domicile Certificate are not to be disconnected, penalty may be imposed for such subscribers as well. (PTI)