Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Wednesday, May 04, 2005 |
|
|
|
|
|
Info-Tech
-
Regulatory Bodies & Rulings Tribunal quashes TRAI order on direct connectivity Our Bureau
New Delhi , May 3 THE Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on Tuesday struck down an order from the telecom regulator, which had asked Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to offer direct connectivity between its cellular venture — CellOne and private cellular operators. The tribunal has, however, asked the State-owned company to stop charging transit charges from cellular operators. BSNL charged 19 paise from private cellular operators each time a call landed on CellOne network. The telecom regulator had ordered BSNL to offer direct connectivity to private cellular operators instead of routing the traffic through its fixed line network. ``TRAI does not have the authority to override the licence conditions for making direct connectivity mandatory either under direction or under regulation. We set aside the direction of TRAI of July 23, 2003, making direct connectivity mandatory with private cellular operators,'' the 35-page order said. BSNL had argued that the TRAI order was without jurisdiction and contrary to the licence agreements signed by basic and cellular operators. While the tribunal upheld the State-owned company's stance, it did not see the merit in imposing transit charges. "The cellular operators have paid port charges to BSNL already. On consideration of level playing field, it appears that BSNL is not justified any longer in charging transit charges to the extent of 19 paise for accessing BSNL CellOne subscribers,'' the order said. TDSAT said that in the interest of level playing field, direct connectivity between cellular operators and BSNL CellOne may be encouraged in the future by mutual agreement on the basis of costs being shared by them. Private cellular operators said that they were happy with the order since it took note of the concerns regarding interconnectivity with BSNL.
Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | The Hindu eBooks | The Hindu Images | Home |
Copyright © 2005, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|