Govt will now help you connect better

NEW DELHI: An Interconnect exchange, which will put an end to the hostile games played by telecom service providers, penalising subscribers who try to call from one network to another, will become operational by March ’07. The government will be the biggest stakeholder in the exchange, with a 26% stake, to ensure smooth functioning and a level playing field for all service providers.

Currently, the networks of different service providers are connected to one another through Points of Interconnect (PoIs). Interconnect problems among operators have reached critical levels and are threatening the growth of telephony in the country. Such bilateral interconnections between operators will come to an end with an interconnect exchange, to which all telecom and internet service providers will have to mandatorily connect.

Although the Department of Telecom and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India are flooded with complaints about denial of and delays in providing PoIs, they have limited influence over the issue. This is because Trai has no adjudicatory powers in the matter and cannot intervene to settle disputes between operators with regard to interconnect issues.

In fact, numerous cases of failure to provide interconnections are pending with the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal.The government plan envisages that interconnect exchanges be made operational in all state capitals by March ’07 and all the 323 long distance calling areas in the country by December ’07. In the first stage, these exchanges will be under BSNL supervision and at the PSU’s location.

The government then plans to convert this exchanges into a non-profit society where all stakeholders will pay a fee to use the facility. Besides, the DoT will also seek the regulator’s help to frame guidelines to ensure that direct connections between operators are not permitted from July, ’07 onwards.

“This will reduce the cost of interconnection and will replace the complex mesh interconnection with a simple routing system to manage inter-carrier traffic. This will also be in the security interests of the country,” the DoT sources said.

When contacted, operators welcomed the proposal, but added that it would not help reduce costs. “The costs will be the same — currently, we pay about Rs 55,000 per interconnect port. With a national exchange, we can avoid port charges, but the cost of setting this up will make up for this gain,” explained an official with a service provider.