The PM had assured the telecom industry that fair play in the sector would be encouraged by granting more teeth to the TRAI. In fact, the PM had said that an out-of-court settlement would be arrived at by the first week of November.

Instead of making any move to strengthen the TRAI, the DoT has bestowed powers upon itself in settling even disputes between the various service providers in the field of GMPCS. Condition 9 of the Iridium licence clearly states that in case of disputes between different service providers or licensees ``due to non-observance ofrules and regulations'' under the licence, the ``licensor'' (DoT in this case) ``will have full powers to take any action against the licensee'' as provided in the licence agreement.

Further, in Condition 10, in the case of disputes between the licensee and the DoT as the licensor, the licence specifies that such cases be referred for arbitration to a tribunal. This tribunal, the licence states, will comprise of three arbitrators, ``one each appointed by the licensor and the licensee'' and both these arbitrators choosing a third one through mutual consensus within 30 days of a reference being made to them.