Trai May Consider Fresh Dot Petition On Tariffs

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is willing to examine an increase in tariff on fixed-to-cellular calls if the department of telecommunications (DoT) files a fresh petition seeking this, B K Zutshi, the regulators vice-chairman said.

This petition, however, has to be independent of the April 25 TRAI order quashing the hike in fixed-to-cellular tariff introduced by the department on February 15. The TRAI Act vests tariff setting powers with the regulator.

The chief reason why the DoT decision was struck down was that under the tender norms, the tariff had to remain unchanged for one year, Zutshi said yesterday.

 

He said now that the one-year period is over, DoT can seek review of a tariff if it considers it too low. After DoT rolled back the hike in fixed-to-cellular call tariff, as ordered by the regulator, it had been reported that the department would file a review petition, Zutshi said.

There is no point in seeking review of a decision that had already been implemented although there is a provision under which a petition can be filed with the regulator seeking review of its own decision.

Earlier, delivering the presidential address at a function on the eve of the World Telecommunication Day, Zutshi said the setting up of TRAI was a milestone.

The function was organised by the National Telematics Forum. He said the regulator considered itself a partner in the process of evolving a world-class telecom system in the country. Telecom, Zutshi said, has become the most important aspect of the infrastructure for human life, as it could be used to give warnings or information about natural disasters and to organise relief operations.

The theme of this years World Telecommunication Day is Telecom and Humanitarian Assistance.

The chief guest at the function, telecom secretary A V Gokak, expressed concern about the working of the telecom network in the country. Half of the 600,000 villages in the country had been provided with telephones, he said, but added that their performance was unsatisfactory.

He said involvement of the local community was important if the telecom network had to yield the desired results. Gokak said another thrust in the telecom policy was to give areas with the lowest tele-density the first priority in allocation of funds.

Apart from Mumbai and Delhi, he said, the tele-density in the country was way below the global standards.

The secretary said telecommunication was highly relevant in India as the country often faced natural calamities like cyclones (in Andhra Pradesh), floods (Assam) and law and order problems (the North-East).

He cited the example of Rwanda, where the United Nations High Commission for Refugees had utilised modern telecom equipment to organise relief work.