Date:03/12/2004 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2004/12/03/stories/2004120302720600.htm

Back Reliance Info contests DoT penalty

Our Bureau

New Delhi , Dec. 2

RELIANCE Infocomm has contested the penalty imposed by the Department of Telecom for alleged violation of the international long-distance licence conditions.

The company has sent its reply to the DoT notice pleading compliance to all licence norms. The DoT had sent a notice last week indicating a penalty of Rs 150 crore on Reliance for violating licence conditions by routing ILD calls as if they were local calls.

In a nine-page reply, Reliance has said that the penalty was unfair since the ILD calls in question were being routed through a service called home country direct service, which is recognised both by the DoT and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Senior DoT officials said that they were studying the letter from Reliance and a decision on the penalty will be taken soon.

Meanwhile, the appeal filed by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd against the High Court order will come up for hearing at the Supreme Court on Friday. The Delhi High Court had ordered BSNL to maintain a status quo on the interconnection with Reliance Infocomm.

BSNL had threatened to disconnect Reliance on grounds that the private company was routing international long-distance calls illegally.

Reliance has said that the nature of call routing in home country direct service is such that the caller line identification (CLI) would show it as a local number despite it being an ILD call.