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Our Bureau

New Delhi , Aug. 13

THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will be issuing a consultation paper on the level playing field for cellular operators vis a vis limited mobility (WLL) operators within two weeks, as sought by the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

This was stated by the TRAI Chairman, Mr Pradip Baijal, at a luncheon dialogue on "Communications: India the next Asian Giant" organised by FICCI.

He also noted that the confusion regarding the number of short distance charging areas (SDCA) that Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai are divided into was unnecessary. All the three circles are one SDCA each and the licences have been granted as such to the basic operators.

"The onus of clarifying the position for WLL services lies with the licensor, which is the Government. To the best of my understanding, Delhi is one SDCA. But when one says three to four SDCAs, I think they are referring to Delhi — National Capital region. But the correct person to answer is the licensor (DoT),'' he said.

Mr Baijal also noted that despite having issued a tariff format for service providers to remove confusion amongst the customers, many operators had issued advertisements without complying with the guidelines.

"We have sent notices to some of the service providers as their advertisements on tariffs are not as per the guidelines issued by TRAI early this month. If they still continue to do so, TRAI may issue directives," he said.

Earlier speaking at the session, he benchmarked the country against neighbouring China, and said that the domestic telecom sector should take ``corrective action'' to bridge the existing gap and reduce litigations for accelerating the pace of growth. While India and China were comparable in terms of numbers of cars, two wheelers, TV and Cable, the gap was significant in the context of mobile phones.

``When I compare India and China, I am amazed. There are so many sectors where the two are comparable, but not mobile industry. We must take corrective action. As far as mobile figures are concerned, few years ago the ratio was 1:20, last year it was 1:12 and today about 1:10... We have to see the reasons for this difference and how it can be corrected,'' he said.

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TRAI to issue consultation paper on level playing field

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