In an affidavit filed before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has said that the 1800 number series cannot be used for international calls.
According to DoT, as per the National Numbering Plan (NNP 2003), only the ?00? and the ?000? number series can be used for this purpose. Prior to this, TDSAT had asked DoT to clarify whether the 1800 number series can be used for international calls. TDSAT approached DoT for a view on the matter after RCOM filed a petition against Bharti Airtel, alleging that Bharti Airtel was blocking toll-free calls coming from RCOM?s enterprise clients.
In 2007, RCOM had signed an interconnection agreement with Bharti Airtel for enabling its consumers to dial toll-free numbers starting with ?1800? and ?1860?. In return, RCOM agreed to pay about Re 0.5 per call to Bharti Airtel to offset the expenses towards the free call. However, issues between the two operators developed when RCOM started terminating some calls originating on Bharti Airtel?s network to a location outside India.
Bharti Airtel claimed that toll-free calls starting with ?1800? cannot be terminated outside India. The operator contested that for international toll-free calls, the number series should start with ?00800? and in such cases RCOM is supposed to pay Bharti Airtel Rs 1.10 per call. According to Bharti Airtel, RCOM deprived it of a higher revenue share and thus violated the NNP 2003 by masking international toll-free calls under the 1800 series.
