MTNL let off the hook for cutting off cell firms

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has let Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd off the hook for disconnecting cellular operators in Delhi during the dispute over interconnection in January.

Trai officials said MTNL had admitted the disconnection, but attributed it to a technical snag. They said cellular operators had accused MTNL of deliberate disconnection.

Trai had earlier moved the Delhi High Court against cellular firms for disconnecting wireless-in-local-loop limited mobility operators.

"Action cannot be taken in the case of a technical snag, which can happen to any operator," a Trai official pointed out.

MTNL had pulled the plug off cellular firms in Delhi in January, because of which mobile phone users could not access land lines. This happened after cellular services companies refused to take calls from WLL networks.

Cellular operators had refused to pass on such calls, alleging that the revenue-sharing arrangement between the two was tilted towards WLL limited mobility operators.

Following complaints from Tata Teleservices, Trai had given cellular firms three days to restore connections. The cellular firms, however, ignored the order. The communication ministry had also asked cell firms to restore the interconnection.

Cellular industry officials, however, said though MTNL had attributed the disconnection to a technical snag, it was not so.

They said operators had made efforts to reach senior MTNL officials to sort out the problem, but it was only after two days that the interconnection was restored.