The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has directed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India not to implement its revised regulation on port charges, says news reports.
TDSAT’s ruling is the result of a petition filed before it by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), requesting it to stay the implementation of a new port charges regime.
In its order, TDSAT has directed TRAI to not implement its new regulation until October 8, 2012, the next date of hearing of the matter. According to TDSAT, once the regulation is implemented, the entire structure of the current port charges regime would have to be changed for port seekers and port providers.
Additionally, it has directed TRAI to file a short reply within three days. It has also provided BSNL three days time for submitting a rejoinder over TRAI’s reply.
Earlier, on September 18, 2012, TRAI revised the port fee payable by one operator to the other for terminating calls. The regulator fixed ceiling rates of Rs 10,000 a year for fixed line calls and at Rs 4,000 for mobile services. Currently, operators pay over Rs 39,000 per port annually for establishing interconnection between two networks.
The port charges were initially determined by TRAI in 1999 and modified by issuing The Telecommunication Interconnection (Port Charges) Regulation 2001 in December 2001. These charges were subsequently revised in February 2007.
