Trai to settle call ring time in 2 weeks even as telecom war gets ugly

On Jio's latest allegations that rival telcos are fraudulently masking fixed-line as mobile calls, a senior Trai official said the matter will be examined just as all complaints to the authority are

Telecom regulator Trai will finalise, in next two weeks, its views on call ring time - a contentious issue on which old and new operators have locked horns.

On the controversial issue of Jio's latest allegations that rival telcos are fraudulently masking fixed-line as mobile calls for undue enrichment and should be slapped with penalty, a senior Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) official said the matter will be examined just as all complaints to the authority are.

"Any complaint that generally comes to us will be examined... If there is any violation, we will look into the matter..." the official said.

Reliance Jio has accused old operators including Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea of "illegally" masquerading wire-line numbers as mobile numbers for "undue enrichment" and has exhorted Trai to slap "severest penalty" on them for violating regulations and licensing norms.

Bharti Airtel has hit back saying Jio is trying to misguide the regulator ahead the consultation on call connect charges (also called interconnect usage charges.