DoT hangs up on 15 mn phones

Mobile operators in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Haryana have been directed to discontinue all connections issued without proper verification.

Although the operators may resist the order, it raises the prospects of millions of mobile connections being disconnected by the end of the month.

The department of telecommunications (DoT) today issued a notice to all mobile operators in these circles "" Hutch, Airtel, Reliance, Idea, Tata and MTNL in Mumbai and Delhi and BSNL in three circles "" giving them 15 days to explain why they should not be fined for violating norms.

An official of the Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers Association of India said: "Nearly 10-15 per cent of all mobile subscribers (100 million) are unverified. However, the number of connections that may be disconnected cannot be determined at this moment."

Going by this number, the number of connections that could be affected are around 10-15 million.

BSNL Director, Finance, SD Saxena said, "The notice may have an effect on new connections as there is a long waiting list of subscribers, but security cannot be left aside."

A Bharti Airtel spokesperson denied receiving such a notice and added the company was on track to verify subscribers according to the deadline of October set by the DoT.