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New Delhi , Aug 13

THE Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has asked the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to implement the order of the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on limited mobility (WLL) to ensure no further damage is caused to the cellular industry and its investments.

In a letter to the Telecom Secretary, Mr Vinod Vaish, the COAI Director General, Mr T.V. Ramachandran, has stated that the areas of immediate enforcement include that WLL handsets cannot be used outside the short distance calling area (SDCA) in which it is registered, mobile switching centres (MSC) cannot be permitted in WLL networks, Inter Base Station Controller authentication cannot be permitted and village telephony rollout obligation to be enforced strictly.

The letter notes that apart from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), none of the other private basic operators are adhering to the WLL guidelines as specified by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) from time to time.

"We wish to bring to your attention that we have been repeatedly seeking the implementation of the TRAI recommendations by the DoT in various communications starting from December 2002 to as recently as July 2003. No action has been taken by the DoT till date, causing substantial damage to the cellular industry and its investments. The immediate enforcement of the TDSAT order is the only way to ensure that no further damage is caused to both the cellular industry and its consumers. We wish to respectfully point out that any damage caused by any delays in implementation of this will be solely the responsibility of DoT," Mr Ramachandran has said.

More so, the letter notes, consumers - - both cellular mobile and WLL need to know exactly the distinction between the two services to make enlightened choices. It is grossly unfair and damaging to both consumers' and cellular operators' interest if such violations continue. This will result in cellular mobile consumers migrating from the service in favour of WLL service, in absence of the distinctions being enforced. Unless the distinction is maintained in line with the judgment, the continued lure of WLL is a threat, which causes unfair churn and wasteful expenditure on part of the consumers.

What is more, new consumers, may subscribing to WLL without fully realising the real distinction that is required to be maintained in line with the TDSAT judgment.

"This is clearly misleading, especially as both the scope of service and prices is expected to be dramatically different after the order is implemented in totality. Clearly, both on account of service providers' interest, who deserve to serve the markets that they are entitled to, and consumers, who need to know the scope and the price of service that they are investing in, DoT's immediate action in this regard is warranted", the letter states.

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