BSNL stalling plans: Tata Tele

Tata Teleservices today accused state-owned BSNL of not providing interconnection at various points, saying this was delaying their plans to start services in more than 100 towns.

"We are ready to start services in various cities of northern India. We have invested over Rs 1,700 crore and are ready to pump in another Rs 1,500 crore. But there is no point in investing if we cannot start the services," Naresh Malhan, President, TTSL (North), told PTI.

Asked whether the company had taken up the issue with authorities concerned, he said "the issue has been taken up both with the Trai and DoT.

The problem is acute in Rajasthan but overall in nearly 100 towns in the northern region, the company has been facing the problem for more than three months.

"This is having a negative impact on companys growth plans. We are targeting a subscriber base of three million in the current financial year from current 0.8 million," he said.

Malhan said the launch of services was getting delayed as Reliance Infocomm was also taking time in giving interconnection in the six new circles in north.

Asked whether they were planning to approach Telecom Dispute Settlement And Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), Malhan said "that will be the last resort. We are making all efforts to resolve the issues among ourselves."

Malhan said the number of towns on an all-India basis, where the company has been struggling with bsnl to get points of interconnection (POI), could go up to 200.

Tata Teleservices has been offering services in most of the states other than Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East.

Recently, the group announced an additional investment of Rs 10,000 crore in the next 12-16 months to capture a leadership position in the telecom sector.