Tariff Issue Referred To Trai

The Delhi High Court yesterday referred the dispute between cellular operators and the department of telecommunications (DoT) over fixed-to-cellular call charges to the recently-formed Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

Justice C M Nayar described the issue as a national urgency while directing the case to TRAI and suggested that it be reviewed expeditiously by all concerned. However, he refused to grant a stay on the DoT decision to increase tariffs for calls made from its network to cellular phones.

Fixed-to-cellular call charges have been increased to a maximum of Rs 28 from Rs 1.25 for a five-minute call from February 15. The court did not set any time-frame for resolving the issue. Government counsel A M Singhvi also did not give a commitment on how long the TRAI would take to decide on the matter.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which had challenged the DoT tariff hike, plans to file a petition before the telecom regulator within a week. According to a COAI press release, it has been advised that in case of difficulty in progressing the matter further, even by March end, they could come back to the bench for assistance and facility.

Simultaneously, the association is expected to lobby with DoT and other government ministries against the move. Telecom sources say cellular operators now have the freedom to enter into negotiations with DoT since the matter is no longer sub-judice. Some of the suggestions doing the rounds include a revenue sharing formula with DoT for long-distance calls within the circle.

DoT had decided to increase the fixed-to-mobile tariffs on January 29.