BSNL moves TDSAT over TRAI directive on roaming charges

Mumbai: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the state-owned telecom service major, has moved the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) challenging telecom regulator TRAI's directive that there would be no additional revenue share between operators on roaming calls.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had, on September 11, passed a regulation prohibiting additional revenue share for roaming calls on applications received by some private cellular operators. TRAI had pegged roaming charges for all types of calls at the prevailing rate of 30 paise per minute.

A TDSAT bench headed by Justice Arun Kumar accepted the petition and issued notices to TRAI and directed it to file a reply within two weeks. The bench also directed TRAI not to take any coercive steps against BSNL till November 17, the next date of hearing.

It also held that there was no need by the private operators to pay any additional interconnect charge on roaming calls.

BSNL has come out with its own scheme for this additional revenue share over and above the prescribed termination charge for terminating the roaming calls in its network. However, the regulator said the charges are cost-based and as per IUC regulation

"The prescribed termination charge is cost-based, independent of the network from where the call is originating / terminating and also independent of the tariff charged by the operators," the TRAI said.