Easier Access To Leased Lines

Operators need not obtain DoT permission for offering circuits to closed user groups

The department of telecommunications (DoT) will exempt basic operators from obtaining prior permission while offering leased line circuits to closed user groups.

The department has also decided not to issue any policy guidelines for such services and leave the parties to mutually negotiate the terms and conditions.

The move will give large corporates the freedom to select a multi-service provider of their choice.

Till now, the leased line market was guided by the norms set by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), which prevented users from obtaining the services of private operators.

Companies like Bloomberg Data Services, GE Capital Services, CitiBank and Hindustan Lever Ltd had asked the DoT and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to allow them to approach private multi-service providers.

Bharti Telenet had also approached DoT with the plea that some of its corporate customers had shown interest in taking leased lines from it.

Senior DoT officials said companies would not need any approval from the DoT for setting up a leased line network as long as it was being used for a closed user group (CUG).