AUSPI moves TDSAT against Trai

The Association of Unified Telecom Service Providers of India (AUSPI), CDMA lobby group, has approached the Telecom Disputes Services Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) because the association feels it (Trai) has not reduced the connectivity charges between operators enough.

The AUSPI, in its petition, has accused the Trai of setting the mobile termination charge (MTC) at 20 paise per minute in an “arbitrary manner”. State-controlled Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has already approached the TDSAT on the matter.

Requesting the TDSAT to quash Trai notification, the AUSPI further submitted that according to its calculation, the cost of the MTC is below 10 paise per minute. The association said that Trai’s calculation was not based on a “correct costing methodology and exaggerated per subscriber cost projection”.

Termination charges are paid by an operator to another on whose network the call ends. The AUSPI further submitted that Trai’s notification was anti-competitive and against the consumer’s interest, as it would add additional burden by increasing the rates that operators charge one another.