Tata commends Arun Shourie for technology-neutral policy

NEW DELHI: Noted industrialist Ratan Tata may have blamed the BJP-led government for many flip-flops in the telecom policy, but praised the then Telecom Minister Arun Shourie for ushering in a regime that provided freedom of choice of technology.

This, Tata said, was achieved through the creation of the Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) regime which enabled the licence holders to migrate to new system that provided freedom of choice of technology and where a pan-India licence could be obtained for a fee of about Rs 1,650 crore, the same fee paid by the successful fourth cellular mobile operator.

Shourie needs to be commended in implementing this "far sighted" policy, which has enabled technology to be the driver of the industry rather than technology protected growth, Tata said in a letter, responding to Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar's open letter that alleged Tata group's telecom arm benefited from the 2008 allocation of spectrum.