Unsettled Issues

Dialog to settle interconnection charges among several operators is still an

unsettled issue in India. Since the number of operators making inroads into the

domestic market is on the rise, the issue is set to heat up. Many greenfield

operators are taking more time to launch their services because of the delay in

getting positive response to settle interconnect issues with the established

players.

In Sri Lanka, Bharti Airtel faced unnecessary delay in signing interconnect

agreements with the local operators when it tried to launch its services in

2008-09. With each country having its own formula, this may be a global issue.

But India has the maximum number of telecom operators. Cooperation among telcos

will be the only solution to solve such issues.

Beyond the finalization of interconnect charges, operators negotiate to

assess collocation charges. Collocation is the cost involved in the installation

of equipment by the interconnection seeker in the premises of the

interconnection provider. Collocation involves facilities such as security, site

maintenance, electrical installations, backup power, fire detection and fire

fighting systems, land, building, apparatus and plants, environment conditioning

services, etc.

According to operators, the fixation of infrastructure charges by service

providers in some cases is done arbitrarily and is not based on the use of sound

criteria. The mighty operator is trying to flex muscles and fix their own

charges hurting new operators' business plans. In this context, the consultation

paper on collocation charges by Trai is a timely one.

According to the telecom regulator, the process for assessing collocation

charges should be transparent and the charges themselves should be

non-discriminatory in terms of quality, provisioning and pricing. In the current

scenario, discussions are not happening between two equal players and chances

for bringing transparency may be bleak.

Strengthening of the sharing of infrastructure concept will be the best

solution to all operators who are feeling the heat because of the per-second

billing plans. Operators who are advocating for infrastructure sharing should

get more incentives. In a sharing atmosphere, cost can be assessed easily. There

will be more transparency.

Operators should be able to assess business gains following infrastructure

sharing. There can be certain targets set by the regulator. If the cost is

shared among several operators who are negotiating for collocation charges, it

will improve both the bottomline and topline. Besides, green telecom will not

become a neglected subject by the Indian operators.

Baburajan K



baburajank@cybermedia.co.in