Idea issues 3,640 connections to one person

Telecom service provider Idea Cellular has issued a whopping 3,640 connections to one person and the company he owns, Limco Sales Corporation.

“Idea Cellular had issued 3,640 post-paid connections to a single person and his company Limco Sales Corporation in Delhi and as per the report of the Department of Telecom, the bulk connections have been rented out to other customers,” Minister of State for Telecom and IT Sachin Pilot said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

“The practice of providing mobile connections to an individual without maintaining his identity particulars has security implications and operational activities of security agencies are hampered due to non-availability of identity of a suspected target,” Pilot said.

According to licence conditions, vigilance should be exercised in providing bulk telephone connections for a single user as well as for a single location. Provision of 10 or more connections may be taken as bulk for this purpose, he said.

The home ministry has said security agencies are facing problems in establishing identity of actual users in cases where bulk connections have been activated in the name of a single user, location or an organisation and the numbers have been further distributed or rented out for use.