No favor given in possessing unified license: RJIO

NEW DELHI: Following a CAG report that said Reliance Jio Infocomm (RJIO) has got Department of Telecom’s favor in turning from an internet service provider to a unified license holder, Reliance Jio has said that no favor has ever been given to it and the company has always abided laws.

“We have abided by the rules and regulations prescribed by the Department of Telecom (DoT) and other regulatory authorities. We have acquired all our spectrum at market prices through open and transparent bidding processes, the conditions for which were same for all bidders. Further, the DoT rules for procuring the relevant licence for services using BWA spectrum too were the same for all successful bidders,” Reliance Jio Spokesperson said in a statement.

In its report submitted to Parliament on Friday, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India said: “This migration (from an internet service provider to an unified license holder), allowed at prices discovered in 2001, resulted in undue advantage of Rs 3,367.29 crore to Reliance Jio Infocomm (formerly Infotel)."

A unified license holder could offer voice services as well with internet.

Unified licenses were issued by the telecom ministry on August 19, 2013, allowing an ISP with wireless broadband spectrum (BWA or 4G) to migrate to UL by paying up a fee equal to the difference between the entry fee for a telecom licence and entry fee of ISP permit.

"Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (RJIL) was the first to take benefit of this scheme and paid UL entry fee of Rs 15 crore and additional migration fee ofRs 1,658 crore in August 2013," the auditor added.