The Hindu Business Line : TRAI for lower port charges

Telecom tariffs may down come down further with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) proposing to reduce port charges for service providers by up to 29 per cent.

Port is the physical place where the networks of two different operators interconnect. The operator who wants to interconnect pays the charges and it adds to the cost of offering services. Since the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is the largest telecom operator in the country, most other operators end up paying port charges to BSNL for interconnection. The TRAI move, therefore, could have revenue implications for BSNL.

Releasing the draft regulation, TRAI said, "We expect that service providers will pass the benefit of reduction in port charges to the consumers. These draft amendment regulations also mandate interconnection seekers to place their demand for the required number of ports, on every Point of Interconnection (PoI) on the basis of traffic projection, on an annual basis."

With more than seven telecom operators, interconnection between networks has become a key issue for the growth of the sector.

The proposed amendment in these regulations reduces the existing port charges by about 23-29 per cent for various slabs. For instance, charges for up to 16 ports has been slashed to Rs 39,000 from Rs 55,000.

This would facilitate the operator who provides the interconnection to take timely action to procure the expansion equipment for provisioning of ports.

"This will also help effective and timely interconnection among different networks thereby improving the quality of service to consumers," TRAI said. The regulation will be finalised after TRAI gets input from the industry.

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