Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has said no entry fee should be levied on the company for its mobile services venture, since it was an existing service provider.
In its response to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India consultation paper on tariffs for its code division multiple access-based mobile service, the company has said it will share 15 per cent of its revenue in line with other mobile operators.
MTNL officials present at the TRAI open house discussion here yesterday, however, said they would pay the entry fee, if the government insisted on it.
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On the issue of cross-subsidy, the company told the regulator that it was simply trying to pass on the benefits of lower capital costs to consumers.
This was refuted by private telecom companies who said MTNL's tariffs did not reflect real costs. They were, however, unable to provide any details to back their arguments. The TRAI has now asked the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) to give its representations in writing.
Operators also said MTNL's cellular division should not retain local pass through charges since private companies are required to collect Re 1.20 per call to pay to the fixed line company as interconnection charges.
Private companies also said if the service was launched in Mumbai, the current tariff structure did not envisage collection of Re 1.20 to be paid to Hughes Ispat for calls destined for the private network. Representatives of private companies present at the consultation said MTNL should ideally hive its mobile