Will the new licence agreement signed by telecom service provider in India affect their sales?

While investigating suspected use of illegally-procured SIM cards by international terror networks, security agencies have stumbled upon a startling finding - many cellular service providers in the country have rented out thousands of SIMs to users whose identities they are not aware of.

This is not only a clear violation of the law, which does not allow renting of SIMs, but also potentially raises the risk of terror groups misusing these cards. Most users of these rented SIMs are members of diplomatic missions and foreign tourists. The licence agreement signed by telecom service providers clearly stipulates that SIMs must be sold and not rented out.

The agreement also lays down that repeated violations of the terms would invite penalties up to Rs 50 crore or withdrawal of the licence itself. Despite being bound by this agreement, Vodafone is learnt to have rented out approximately 4,000 domestic SIMs, Airtel 3,200 and Idea 3,400.

That these operators have rented out the SIMs in bulk through their agents and are not aware of the identities of all individuals who possess these cards, leaves ample scope for their misuse.

Will the new licence agreement really work against the global terrorist?