The Solicitor General of India has supported the Department of Telecommunications’ decision to allocate unified licence to Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (RJIL). Earlier, DoT had converted the internet service licence of RJIL to a unified licence after the latter had signed the Unified License Agreement with the Ministry of Communication and IT in October 2013 following the submission of requisite documents and entry fee.

Earlier, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India had raised concerns on DoT’s decision. According to CAG, DoT has not been able to justify that how Infotel Broadband Services, a company with a net worth of Rs 250 million, was able to pay the bid amount of Rs 128.47 billion for acquiring 4G spectrum in 2010. Further, it added that the acquisition of Infotel Broadband by RJIL, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, should be audited as there could have been a possible violation of confidentiality conditions by Infotel Broadband. RJIL had acquired Infotel Broadband Services in June 2010, soon after the firm won broadband spectrum on a pan-Indian level.

On the matter, the Solicitor General has maintained that a high amount can be raised by small companies through the demonstration of a strong business case and potential revenue stream. Therefore, there is no need for DoT to enquire into the transaction between Infotel Broadband and Reliance Industries.