Reliance Infocomm denies licence violation

New Delhi: Reliance Infocomm yesterday said that the government''s security concerns arising out of improper caller line identification (CLI) was a `bogey'' since more than 40 per cent of international long distance calls do not have the correct CLI.

Defending allegations of licence violation, the company told the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) that the government''s claims of licence violation were baseless.

Reliance''s counsel, Harish Salve, said that the government had itself directed operators to put their own switch numbers in case ISD calls came in without the caller identification.

Salve said CLI was a weak measure of security concern because a large number of ISD calls come through without CLI.

Reliance had filed an appeal in TDSAT after the department of telecom imposed a Rs183-crore penalty for routing international long distance calls as local ones.

The company reiterated that it had not violated the licence agreement since the routing was being done through home country direct service (HDC), which was fully recognised by the international telecom union.

Salve pointed out that even the state-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), which did not have an ILD licence, uses the HCD service to offer operator assisted international call.

In the previous hearing, DoT had said that Reliance had misrepresented facts to avoid payment of the access deficit charges. The TDSAT will continue to hear Reliance and department of telecom on February 11.