MORE than halfway through the game, can you scrap all that has happened till now and announce new rules? That's what the Union Communications Ministry has done with the basic telephone services privatisation process. With the ministry changing colours faster than a chameleon, the whole affair is suddenly mired in confusion. First it announced that no company would be allowed more than three A and B circles—the most lucrative regions—to wire up. Then on November 11, a full 72 days after the tender was opened, the Tender Evaluation Committee (TEC) of the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) rejected the highest bids of 10 operators, throwing the door open for retendering. New rules, new game.