WLL users cheer Trai proposal

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) proposal for a unified licencing regime that allows full automatic roaming for the wireless-in-local loop (WLL) operators has brought cheers to the subscribers of Reliance Infocomm and Tata Indicom.

The subscribers now hope for full automatic roaming on their CDMA handsets without any change in the numbers.

Many GSM cellular phone subscribers said they would change over to WLL connections if they allowed full automatic roaming at cheaper rates.

"I was planning to surrender my Tata Indicom connection to opt for a GSM mobile as I was not offered roaming. But after the Trai recommendations on Monday, I feel that soon Tata will also provide me roaming services," a broker at the Ahmedabad Stock Exchange said.

"With the roaming facility, I can always stay connected. Tata Indicom will charge extra for the roaming service, if they introduce it. If I find the rates cheaper than those offered by GSM operators, I will continue with Tata," he said. "I may also consider a Reliance connection. Now they can provide roaming legally," he said.

S Ramakrishnan, managing director, Tata Teleservices, did not comment on whether the company will provide roaming to its CDMA mobile subscribers.

He said, "Tata Teleservices welcomes the recent recommendations made by Trai on the unified license regime. These are very progressive and fair recommendations. We hope this will make way for a more consistent regulatory environment." However, Indicom subscribers were upbeat.

"Nothing could be better than this. When I travel to Gandhinagar from Ahmedabad, my Indicom phone is not connected. So I also carry a GSM phone. Once Indicom starts providing roaming, I can surrender the GSM connection," said Anilbhai Shah, a government contractor.