Trai for open access at cable landing stations

In a move which is expected to reduce international bandwidth prices, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has mandated that Cable Landing Stations (CLS) in the country should also be opened to operators other than those managing them, a move that would put an end to the latter's monopoly.

Submarine cables running across oceans and land have to terminate in a country at a landing station and bandwidth is then retailed across the country. At present, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) and Bharti Airtel are the only CLS operators in the country.

Trai, in its draft regulation on CLS, says the move would result in increasing bandwidth connectivity, and would be beneficial to International Long Distance Operators (ILDOs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) with gateways in the country.

Access to CLS for other licensees is necessary for creating a conducive environment and boosting competition in the international bandwidth connectivity and leased circuits segment, it said.

A number of submarine cables land or terminate in India. These cables terminate at CLSes operated and managed by a few ILDOs. As such, the facilities are predominantly owned by only a few ILDOs.

Trai also wants CLS owners to publish a Reference Interconnect Offer (RLO). The RLO would contain the terms and conditions for access facilitation, and charges and time limit for various activities in such facilitation, including provisions for co-location facility.

The regulator had earlier issued a consultation paper "� "Measures to promote competition in International Private Leased Circuits (IPLC) in India" - in June 2005.

Later, on December 16, Trai had sent its recommendation to the Department of Telecommunications (DOT), which was accepted by the licensor.

According to Naresh Singh, an analyst with Gartner, the move might result in a fall in bandwidth prices. "However, it is too early to gauge the impact," he said.

According to industry sources, such a move had been sought for a long time. The industry does not see a fall in bandwidth prices in the short-term, as price fluctuations would happen only for large contracts. Most large contracts are signed on a yearly basis, and so the impact on prices can be gauged only when contracts come up for renewal.