Tata Tele slams DoT findings

In an open challenge to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the Tatas have questioned the department's findings that Tata Teleservices (TTSL) has the poorest record in verification of pre-paid subscribers.

According to a PTI report, the telecom ministry's sample survey has found that Hutch and Reliance Communications have the highest percentage of verified subscribers, while Tatas were had the least number of verified users, at 73 per cent.

Challenging the DoT sample survey findings, TTSL said the data sent by the company to the department for scrutiny had a compliance of 99.7 per cent. The deadline for verification of all pre-paid subscribers ended on March 31, 2007.

Arguing that the company was ready for a public scrutiny of its records, TTSL's Corporate Affairs President Ashok Sud said: "TTSL feels that it is unfair and indeed disturbing to have such comments and conclusions passed at this stage, without first giving the companies a chance to present their position."

Sud said that if indeed such a report had been prepared, the methodology and findings of the audit must be made public for "further scrutiny".

Tatas have clarified that they received directions from the DoT to produce customer agreement forms in all circles for a list of telephone numbers selected from "our database by local vigilance officials of the DoT".

The TTSL says the DoT received a total of 4,574 requests, against which "we have submitted 4,560 customer agreements ""equalling 99.7 per cent compliance. This task has been accomplished despite non-standardisation in the nature of circle-level requests from local VTM officials".

TTSL has also complained that vigilance officials scrutinising the figures have not asked for a standard format "" with the method of issuing demands ranging from telephone calls to e-mails, faxes and registered post "" thereby imposing on TTSL very short turnaround timelines. TTSL has also lamented that many of these instructions reaching it "the day before the required information needed to be produced".

Despite these handicaps, TTSL said it was the first operator to submit the customer agreement forms in several circles.