Kapil Sibal questions telecom secretary on crossholding rules

KOLKATA: Telecom minister Kapil Sibal has asked telecom secretary MF Farooqui to check if the crossholding rules in the existing Unified Access Service Licence system should be aligned with the new unified licensing regime, according to an internal note seen by ET.

At present under the Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) system, mobile phone companies can hold up to 10% in a telecom company operating in the same circle. But the new licensing regulation (UL) doesn’t allow any crossholding in the same circle.

Sibal’s directive to the telecom secretary comes after warnings from two parliamentarians that if the crossholding rule under UASL isn’t amended in line with the upcoming licensing system, mobile phone companies could defer migration to the new regime to retain their stakes in multiple telecom operators within the same service area.