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India
Telecom
October 12, 2002
BSNL-VSNL dispute goes to TRAI
Rajendra
Prabhu
NEW
DELHI -- Privatized incumbent international telecom
carrier Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL) has taken its dispute
with the Government owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam ltd.
(BSNL) to the regulator, TRAI.
The dispute arose out of BSNL’s demand that VSNL
give it interconnect charges that match the ones offered
by the new ILD operators Bharti Telesonics and Data
Access. This would have led to a serious drain on the
VSNL revenues as it enjoyed a special relationship with
BSNL when both were under Government control. By virtue
of the terms of settlement between VSNL and Government
the former were to get for two years continued support
in carrying the BSNL originating traffic for international
destinations.
Bharti Telesonics and Data Access the two new international
carriers gave BSNL a fifty per cent increase in the
portion of the call charges it could retain from an
international call either originating or terminating
on its networks. BSNL asked VSNL to match these offers
if it were to retain the international part of the call
carriage originating from BSNL’s network. VSNL
moved the DoT and the company chairman Ratan Tata even
spoke to Union IT and Communications Minister Pramod
Mahajan in this regard. But with BSNL’s own revenues
hit by low new national long distance charges, the Minister
was in no position to concede the VSNL demand.
Refuting the charge that the TRAI was doing nothing
in the on going interconnection disputes that all operators
have with the incumbent basic services giant BSNL, sources
close to the regulator said that all over the world
the practice was to let the interconnect seeker and
the giver to negotiate the terms by themselves. Only
when they failed would the regulator step in.
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