Trai may not rush into CAC regime: Baijal

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is not rushing to resurrect the carrier access code (CAC) even as it is determined to go ahead with its implementation.

CAC enables customers to select long-distance operators of their choice based on the quality of service and charges. A directive on CAC was passed in 2002 and the deadline for its implementation expired in 2003.

"We are not shelving CAC even though we are not in a hurry to roll out the consultancy paper. There are various issues related to CAC and we are studying all its aspects," Trai chairman Pradip Baijal said on Friday.

CAC, also known as carrier pre-selection (CPS), was on backburner after a discussion between private operators and state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) on the cost of upgrading networks failed to elicit a positive response. The networks had to be upgraded to enable setting up of a two-digit access code, which was necessary for billing.

"The issue is not as simple as that," Baijal said.

The regulator is studying a number of issues including dearth of billing systems and a fall in both national long distance (NLD) and international long distance (ILD) prices. A billing system is necessary to enable payment to the carrier when the users opt to route their calls through the carrier of their choice.

The advent of the unified licensing scheme has also resulted in the regulator opting a go-slow approach on rolling out of the consultancy paper.

A consultancy paper has to be introduced and suggestions from players should be sought, before taking a final decision on implementing it.

Trai's objective of introducing CAC was to bring down telephony charges and with an industry-driven slide in prices, the regulatory is taking a "wait and watch" approach, Baijal said.

CAC in telecom was been planned to be introduced to enable telephone users offer consumers choice between tariffs and quality of service.

Bharti Tele-Ventures was the only player to implement the scheme though Bharti and BSNL were allotted codes `55' and `50' under CAC. If a subscriber opts to route his through Bharti's network, he would have to dial 55 before dialling the STD code and the number.