Tatas must stop violating guidelines: BSNL

BSNL today reacted sharply to accusations made by Tata Teleservices with regard to connectivity and said till they (Tatas) stop violating guidelines, they will not get interconnection.

"The fixed wireless service offered by Tatas called 'Walky' has been declared illegal by the licensor (DoT) and TRAI. We have asked them to treat Walky as WLL (M) and we shall provide them the interconnection," A K Sinha, CMD of BSNL told PTI.

Tata Teleservices had said that their launch of services in about 100 towns was getting delayed as BSNL was not providing the interconnection. "We have invested about Rs 1,700 crore in six new circles in the Nroth and areready to pump in another Rs 1,500 crore but it is of no use if we cannot start services," Naresh Malhan of Tata Teleservices had said.

In case the services like 'Walky', offered by Tatas, are considered as WLL (M), then the company would have to pay 80 paise per minute to BSNL instead of 30 paise.

Besides this, on every international call, the private operator would have to pay a levy, Access Deficit Charge (ADC), to BSNL and with this Tatas would have to position 'Walky' differently' both in terms of mobility as well as pricing.

"We have been cooperating with all and we have no reason to deny interconnection to Tata Teleservices provided they do not violate the defined agreements on interconnection between two parties," Sinha said.