Opinion within the group is divided, with different interpretations of what transpired at the first meeting; indeed, the fact that different views are represented makes this ministerial group a good body to evolve an acceptable formula that unties what has become a Gordian knot.
Meanwhile, the issues have become more clearly defined. The telecom dispute settlement tribunal has ruled by majority verdict in favour of allowing the limited mobile companies to use mobile switching centres, and this is a critical victory for companies like Reliance Infocomm.
But the tribunal has come down hard on the government for not asking Reliance to stay within the prescribed licensing norms, and declared that Reliance should not on the strength of its basic licence be allowed to offer a service that is indistinguishable from that offered under a mobile licence.
The Telecom Engineering Group, meanwhile, has submitted a report which says pretty much the same thing: that Reliance has violated in spirit (if not in letter) the terms of its telecom licence. And the department of telecommunications
