Kapil Sibal, Communications Minister inaugurated yesterday, 10th April 2012, the  4G services  by Airtel at Kolkata which is being done with the support of the Chinese company ZTE. Airtel is proposing to start services in four circles iincluding in Maharashtra, Chandigarh and Bangalore.

This raises certain questions. The first is that why BSNL, the public sector telco, has not started 4G services first as it started 3G services? Second, how Airtel, which started 3 G services after one year of the same started by BSNL has been able to start 4G in such a short time? Third, how the private company Airtel is allowed to launch the services with the support of a Chinese company ZTE, while BSNL was denied permission to purchase equipment from the Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei citing national security? How Reliance Communications is allowed to take loan from Chinese financial institutions and to purchase Chinese equipments from ZTE and Huawei,  while the purchase from the same companies are not allowed by BSNL?

The answers are very clear. While it is the responsibility and duty of the Central Government to help and support its own companies, BSNL and MTNL, to procure equipment in sufficient quantity, help it to improve its services and fiancial viability, taking in to consideration that these PSUs are vehicles for providing universal service throughout the country, the government is not only not helping its PSUs, but is acting against their interests. Further it is helping the private companies even violating its own decisions and rules. This has been amply proved by the Supreme Court when it cancelled the 122 Licences granted to the private companies.

Despite the apex court decisions and the need for transparency in its dealings, the Government and its ministers are going out of the way to help the MNCs and big private companies. This should be exposed and defeated.