TDSAT postpones ruling to March 17

NEW DELHI: The stand-off between cellular and basic phone operators offering limited mobility services (WiLL) is set to continue for a while, as the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) postponed its ruling to March 17.

The TDSAT was expected to give its ruling on the issue of WiLL firms offering free roaming and SMS services. Earlier, the Supreme Court had referred a decision on allowing basic telephone operators to offer WiLL services back to TDSAT, asking TDSAT to take a fresh look at the matter while keeping in mind the contentious issue of level playing field raised by the cellular operators.

Limited mobility is similar to mobile phone services, but is restricted within a particular geographic area. Cellular operators see WiLL as a major threat and have dubbed it as "back door entry into cellular telephony area", as the technology involved in WiLL is much cheaper compared to mobile phone services.

The discord between mobile firms and fixed-line companies erupted after the cellular operators refused to abide by TRAI’s order on providing interconnectivity to basic operators offering limited mobility services.

Source: IRIS