BSNL snaps services to pvt operators in Har; COAI slams PSU -Governance Now

BSNL snaps services to pvt operators in Har; COAI slams PSU

Several subscribers could not establish link with mobile phones of Airtel, Vodafone and Idea in Haryana circle

PTI | October 5, 2011

Disrupting landline and mobile services, BSNL on Tueday disconnected telecom services to 3 private operators in Haryana, even as the interconnection impasse in neighbouring Punjab continued for the sixth day on Tuesday.

"We have disconnected services to three companies Airtel, Vodafone and Idea in Haryana circle," a senior official of BSNL told PTI.

BSNL had yesterday restored services to RCom and Tata Teleservices but connection to Airtel, Vodafone and Idea is yet to be restored.

Slamming BSNL, private operators body COAI in a statement said, "In spite of the TDSAT Order, disconnection by BSNL with the networks of certain private operators continues on the pretext that they were not party to the TDSAT order".

After the disconnection in Haryana circle, subscribers of BSNL landline could not establish link with mobile phones of Airtel, Vodafone and Idea.

Similarly, customers of these three operators could not call up fixed line number of BSNL in the same circle.

The statement added that this is a blatant case of discrimination among similarly placed private operators, based on a misguided technicality.

"Rules when passed by a competent authority are applicable on all similarly placed," COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews said.

An operator pays nterconnect user charges (IUC) to the other for landing calls of its user on the other players network.

BSNL has asked private operators to pay Rs 165.62 crore at pan-India level which both CDMA and GSM player called erroneous, inflated and not in consonance with the Trai's IUC regulations.

Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) in an interim order stayed BSNL from disconnecting services over the petitions of Reliance Communications and Tata Teleservices on September 30.

However, COAI said that based on this order the association approached BSNL which refused to restore their connection saying that the three were not party to the order.

BSNL has 5.81 lakh landline connections while Airtel, Vodafone and Idea have 22.15 lakh, 42.02 lakh and 32.56 lakh connections, respectively, as on July 31, 2011.

BSNL Haryana circle claims to have total outstanding dues amounting to Rs 2.70 crore including Rs 98 lakh from Vodafone, Rs 81 lakh from Airtel and Rs 92 lakh from Idea.

BSNL has nine SSA (Secondary Switching Areas) spread in 8 districts of Haryana including Hisar, Jind, Rohtak, Ambala, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Karnal and Sonepat. SSA provides Point of Interconnection (POI) between BSNL and other telecom operators for calls within the state.

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