Cell firms move TDSAT on WLL

The Trai had moved the High Court against some cellular operators, including Idea Cellular, Essar Hutchison and Bharti, for not providing interconnection to WLL limited mobility operators.

It had issued a number of warnings to the defiant cellular operators to restore interconnectivity or face punitive action.

The cellular operators, however, stood their ground claiming that the interconnect revenue share was heavily skewed in favour of the WLL operators.

They said that despite taking up the matter with the Trai for the past four years, the regulator had refused to take any decision. This, they said, forced them to pull the plug off WLL operators.

The feud had blown up into huge controversy, with WLL subscribers not being able to make calls to mobile users. Public sector MTNL also got involved when they pulled the plug off the cellular operators, blaming a technical snag.

In its appeal filed with the TDSAT, the cellular operators have asked for quashing of Trai's decision of taking action against them. The case is scheduled to come up for hearing on October 14.

This is the second time COAI has taken the matter to TDSAT. On the first instance, it withdrew the case after Pramod Mahajan, the then minister of communication, assured the operators that concerns raised by the cell firms would be resolved.

COAI has said that the Trai decision was taken without examining the legality of such a directive. It said the decision also violated the principles of natural justice as the cell firms were refused a hearing by the regulator.

The appeal said that the Trai had acted contrary to its own interconnect rules in full knowledge that a new interconnect usage norms was in the offing.

COAI has said that interconnection with any operators has to be done under mutually agreeable terms and not forced.

"The Trai was forcing cellular operators to entertain WLL calls through an indirect route. This action of the Trai unlawfully and inequitably forced cellular operators to enter into an interconnect regime without their consent," cellular operators said.