COAI asks HC to decide on TRAI tariff

BANGALORE: The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has asked the Delhi High Court (HC) to intervene in pending petitions challenging the new tariff order for cellular services announced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on September 17.

On October 28, the court had stayed the new interim tariff structure, which was to be implemented from November 1, following petitions of an NGO Telecom Watchdog and MTNL. In a special mention, the COAI counsel said the cellular operators' body wanted to place certain facts on the proposed Calling Party Pays (CPP) regime and HC acknowledged that its plea would be heard with the pending petitions on November 16. COAI representatives said that they wanted to assist the court by placing facts regarding the CPP regime.

The COAI is in favor of the new tariff as it would result in an increase in the use of cellular phones and hence, the revenues of cellular operators. However, the basic telecom service operators, including MTNL, are opposed to the revenue share between cellular operators and them in case a call transmits from a fixed network to a cellular network and vice-versa. In an interim order issued on October 28, the HC had stayed the CPP regime, saying it amounted to 'hostile discrimination' against the department of telecommunications (DoT) and MTNL.

MTNL and NGO had said that the basic phone users would be subjected to extra financial burden and MTNL would also lose Rs 200 crore every year. The Supreme Court rejected TRAI's appeal against the stay order and advised it to place its viewpoint before the HC.