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G. Rambabu

New Delhi , Dec. 18

THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has pulled up Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) for failing to install a call detail record (CDR)-based billing system because of which private operators are being forced to make excess payments as interconnection usage charges (IUC).

According to official sources, this follows complaints by the private operators that although BSNL had promised to install the improved billing system in all its exchanges across the country by October-end, the company is yet to do so.

A CDR-based billing system will ensure that the interconnection charges that are being paid by private operators to BSNL and vice-versa would be based on the duration of each call made. However, now, with the absence of such a system, BSNL is making these payments in "bulk", without a record of the exact duration of all calls made. The private operators end up paying more because of a difference in the pulse rates. The sources said that in response to the TRAI queries, BSNL has now sought a couple of months more to implement the new system.

Meanwhile, in another development related to interconnection with BSNL, the Authority has refused to reconsider its decision to dispense with the `port charges' that are payable by private operators.

At present, the private basic and cellular operators pay port charges, which run into hundreds of crores of rupees to BSNL for interconnecting with its nationwide network.

The operators have argued that since BSNL is already being compensated for its investments in linking up with the other operators by virtue of IUC regime in force since May, there is no longer any need for it to levy separate charges.

The port charges, which are levied for access to the BSNL network, are currently at the rate of Rs 55,000 per port. For seamless interconnectivity with the BSNL network across the country, private operators have to necessarily pay for thousands of such ports.

They added that when the port charges were levied two years ago, the argument was that they would offset the huge investment expenditure incurred by BSNL for allowing the private operators to interconnect. However, the IUC regime has taken this investment into account while formulating the revenue sharing that takes place between all the networks.

While the move to abolish the port charges might not have any direct impact for the customers, it could give the private operators more room to bring down tariffs further without taking a severe hit on the bottomline.

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