We want to be treated on par with PSUs:
Sunil Mittal
Private operators should be given
additional spectrum to level the playing field, he says.
Thomas
K. Thomas
In a letter to the Minister of
State for Commerce, Mr Jairam
Ramesh, the Bharti honcho
said that he was delighted that BSNL and MTNL have been given more spectrum but has only demanded that the private operators
should also be given additional spectrum to level the playing field.
Spectrum
allocation
Mr Mittal’s
letter is in response to a communication from Mr Ramesh who slammed Airtel’s chief
for castigating BSNL.
Mr Mittal
had earlier shot off a letter to the Government alleging that the Department of
Telecom’s spectrum allocation policy was favouring
some companies.
He had said that BSNL and MTNL
were being given more spectrum even without meeting
the subscriber linked criteria thereby being an example of being inefficient.
Responding to Mr
Mittal’s first letter, Mr Ramesh said: “Public service enterprises have to face many
constraints in their operations not the least being aggressive lobby by the
competitors to stymie their expansion. I was anguished at your comments on BSNL
and MTNL. I am well aware that there are differing opinions on the best way of
allocating spectrum. You have a point of view which you have expressed
forcefully. But what pained me is the manner in which you have castigated BSNL
particularly.”
Castigating
TEC report
However in a fresh letter, Mr Mittal said, “My letter does
not castigate BSNL nor MTNL.
The letter castigates the finding
of the TEC which has come out with spectrum allocation criteria unheard of
anywhere in the world. Incidentally, let me clarify that we are delighted that
BSNL and MTNL have been given more spectrum as we support the same, but only
demand that to be the same for the private sector and thereby level playing
field.”
“I have to agree that public
sector face many constraints in their operations and are not free to run
efficient operations. I am with you on this point.
“I, however, resent your charge
that we are lobbying to block competition. You know me better. I hope my
response, and the enclosed letter, re-establishes my credibility in your eyes,”
Mr Mittal said in the
letter.
Source: The Hindu business Line
Access deficit charge: TRAI may issue show cause notice
Thomas K.Thomas
The Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India may issue show cause notices to all the long distance telephone
operators who have not been paying access deficit charges to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
State owned BSNL had earlier
sought TRAI’s intervention because long distance
operators including BT, Sify, HCL Infinet
and Tulip IT Services are allegedly evading payment of access deficit charges
to the PSU.
BSNL had named 10 domestic long
distance operators and three international long distance operators who have
allegedly not paid the charges.
Senior TRAI officials said that
they were looking into the matter and could soon issue show cause notices
seeking explanation from these companies.
Companies’
stance
Some of these companies which have
been named said that they had already settled the dues.
However, some of the domestic long
distance operators who had taken the licence to offer
only data connectivity to the enterprise segment through services such as
virtual private network, said that they were not
liable to pay ADC since they were not carrying retail calls on a per minute
basis.
TRAI officials, however, said that
all operators were required to pay ADC as a percentage of their annual revenues
if not on a per minute basis.
ADC is expected to be phased out
next year as the Government has decided to end the subsidy for rural telephone.
Private operators are against paying ADC as they fear that BSNL could use the
money collected from them to offer lower tariffs in urban areas.
Source: The Hindu business Line
Telecom News dated 10-11-2007