In a confidence-building exercise for the telecom sector that is reeling under the impact of the alleged 2G scam, Union Communications and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal has decided to meet top honchos in the next few days to discuss issues and ways to ensure that the growth of the sector is not derailed.
While Mr. Sibal is likely to hold separate meetings with Reliance Communications' Anil Ambani and Bharti Airtel's Sunil Mittal on Tuesday, on Wednesday senior functionaries of Tata Teleservices and Idea Cellular would hold discussions with the Minister. On Thursday Mr. Sibal would discuss the telecom sector issues with top management of Vodafone Essar and a few other players.
To hold consultations
Government sources said Mr. Sibal decided to hold consultations with all leading telecom players to streamline the functioning of the sector and also take their inputs for the proposed new and comprehensive policy that would replace the National Telecom Policy 1999 that is said to be the root cause of all the alleged irregularities in the issuance of licences and allocation of spectrum.
Interestingly, the Central Bureau of Investigation, which has been directed by the Supreme Court to investigate decisions taken by the Department of Telecommunications between 2001 and 2009 on the issue of licences and spectrum, might question all incumbent operators including Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, Idea, Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications, in the alleged Rs.1.76-lakh crore 2G spectrum allocation scam.
