The country?s intelligence agencies have not yet permitted Etisalat DB to offer international long-distance telephony services. This is owing to security concerns about the operator?s parent company, UAE-based Emirates Telecommunications Corporation.
According to the conditions specified in the international long distance (ILD) licence, Etisalat DB is to establish at least one gate way within three years to fulfill its rollout obligations.
The company was granted a licence in October 2008. Thus, if the company does not establish a gateway before October 5, 2011, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will encash the performance bank guarantee submitted by the company.
Given that the country?s various security agencies have failed to reach a consensus on this issue, DoT has written to the Ministry of Home Affairs for their opinion on whether the company should be permitted to establish gateways or not.
While the Intelligence Bureau has recommended that the company may be permitted to start limited services such as voice, fax and SMS services, the Research and Analysis Wing has said that they do not recommend granting clearance to the company for setting up ILD gateways in Mumbai unless security concerns are addressed and demonstrated.
