The BJP's decision to nominate Union information & broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj, who also also in charge of the communications ministry, as Delhi Chief Minister is set to slow down the progress made by the department of telecommunications (DoT) in trying to resolve the sector's problems.
This is more so because it seems unlikely that the Vajpayee government will post anybody else to fill the slot until the Delhi assembly polls are over.
Some of the issues that have been hanging fire and need strong political will include the corporatisation of the Rs 17,000-crore DoT, the travails of the private sector in cellular and basic telecom services, a proposed regional telecom hub proposed by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) and a package for the postal employees.
Swaraj, in her five-month tenure, displayed an admirable grasp of the issues in the communications sector.
For instance, last month, she had convinced the cabinet of extending the licence period of cellular operators from 10 to 15 years.
Although the operators were not happy with just the extension, the minister hinted that she was open to the proposal of a two-year moratorium on payment of licence fees.
She had made considerable progress on the proposed corporatisation of the DoT. She held discussions with representatives of the staff unions which accounted for the 400,000-strong workforce of the department.
Also, she negotiated with the striking postal employees in July and succeeded in persuading them to withdraw the week-long agitation. She was expected to get clearance from a group of ministers for a Rs 1,000-crore package soon. She had promised the visiting British Telecom chairman Sir Iain Vallance that her ministry would clear the telecom regional hub proposal "soon".
However, the proposal has met with considerable resistance within the department, which has stonewalled it. Swaraj was also expected to look into certain issues regarding the basic telecom operators who have been asking for a "level playing field".
They accused the government of being unfair to them by allowing Internet service providers to set up last-mile links into subscriber premises.