In an interim order, Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has asked BSNL not to increase infrastructure charges retrospectively from April, 2009. According to TDSAT BSNL cannot increase infrastructure charges from time to time.
TDSAT?s ruling came over a petition filed by operators like Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Tata Teleservices, Reliance Communications, Aircel, Vodafone South and Vodafone Digilink.
Infrastructure charges are paid by private telecom operators to BSNL as rental and maintenance fees to station their link equipment like terminals and antennas in the premises of the state-owned companies to get connected in their NLD (domestic) and ILD (international) networks.
Operators in their petition filed with TDSAT have stated that BSNL, on August 23, 2012 had increased the infrastructural charges retrospectively from April 1, 2009 based on a classification of cities by the government in 2004. They have opposed BSNL?s move on the ground that they had entered in to an interconnect agreement with BSNL post 2001 and had already paid infrastructural charges in advance for the financial year 2012-2013.
Operators further stated that it was a commercial agreement between them and BSNL and thus, all partners need to be consulted before revision of the same.
