The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked a few older GSM operators to comply with the rules pertaining to levying of SMS termination charges, according to news reports. This comes after it was bought to the regulator?s notice that these players were levying SMS termination charges on new operators unilaterally and in a discriminatory manner.
Operators pay each other an interconnection usage charge (IUC) for using each other?s networks for originating, terminating or transiting calls or SMSs. Although TRAI did not name any operator, the indication was clearly towards the older GSM operators because of the huge subscriber base they have.
In March 2009, TRAI had added a new schedule, saying, ?IUC for short message service shall be under forbearance, provided such charges are transparent, reciprocal and non-discriminatory.? It added, ?Also in a view of the fact that by and large, the arrangements prevalent today are ?bill and keep? and mutually agreed reciprocal arrangements, the authority believes the service providers would continue with these arrangements, in a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory manner?
The regulator also said Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular have concluded agreements with some service providers specifying IUC for SMS, while the rest are still in the process of entering into similar agreements. This has resulted in a situation in which the charge being actually applied is different for different service providers.
