The Ministry for Communications has decided to grant a six-month extension to mobile companies to fulfil their rural rollout obligations as per the universal access service licence agreement. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has therefore decided to put on hold its earlier decision to impose a fine of Rs 4.06 billion on mobile operators including Airtel, Hutch, Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices, Spice and HFCL for reneging on the obligation. The move follows the telecom operators’ submission to the ministry regarding their inability to complete their rural obligation due to delays in getting clearances from various government agencies and the lack of adequate spectrum.
