Government extends BSNL’s unified license for 20 years after Rs 250 cr BG

NEW DELHI: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has extended the unified license (UL) for the next 20 years to state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited after the latter has submitted a bank guarantee (BG) worth Rs 250-crore.
On December 10, the department has signed an agreement with BSNL, saying that the ‘license shall be valid for a period of 20 years from the effective date of this license unless revoked for reasons specified elsewhere in the document.”
The license has been granted with effect from February 29, 2020. The state-owned telco has been offering services on an ad-hoc basis since then, while the renewal has become one of the many contentious issues between the state-owned telco and the department.
The license has been granted in consideration of the entry fee, license fee and due performance of terms and conditions by the licensee, the agreement document said.