Providing interconnections between networks is mandatory according to TRAI guidelines for telecom operators.
But the implementation of these guidelines has been poor and hence the new TRAI rules are focused for bringing in better compliance.
How has the conflict spanned?
Interconnection between telecom operators has been the cause of many disputes since the sector was opened up to the private sector.
Some incumbent operators resort to malpractices by using interconnections as a tool to delay or block competition from new entrants.
Existing dominant operators have either refused to interconnect on flimsy grounds or have arbitrarily priced interconnections to deter new entrants.
Notably, in 2003, MTNL (which was then the largest operator), had pulled not provided interconnection with new private operator networks.
Resultantly, subscribers of the private operators could not call MTNL users (the majority) for days, which would mean bad reputation for the new entrants.
More recently, incumbent players declined to give sufficient points of interconnection to Reliance Jio which in turn impacted the latter’s 4G roll out.
What regulations have been brought in?
The quality of competition and services offered by an operator is highly dependent on how well it is interconnects with rival providers.
Hence, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recently decided to further tighten rules governing interconnection to ensure better compliance.
The regulator has made it mandatory for operators to offer interconnection within 30 days (earlier it was 90) of receiving a request from another operator.
Which previously there was no financial cost for non-compliance, TRAI has now prescribed a penalty of up to Rs.1 lakh per day for violating operators.
Also, to stop unilateral disconnection of points of interconnection, the TRAI has also prescribed conditions under which interconnections can be cancelled.
What else could’ve been done?
Dispute Resolution - TRAI has dropped the idea of setting up a “Coordination Committee” to resolve issues between operators.
Rather, operators will have to continue to approach “Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal”, which has proven to be time consuming.
IP level interconnections - As data networks grow, voice calls will also switch to internet-based modes, which require separate interconnections.
But TRAI hasn’t laid down the building blocks for migrating from the current circuit switch level interconnection to the Internet Protocol level.
