The Hindu Business Line : BSNL contests 36% cut in access deficit charges

New Delhi March 30 The proposed 36 per cent reduction in access deficit charges announced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India could run into rough weather with the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd filing an appeal with the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal contesting the revised regime.

The new levy is supposed to be implemented from April 1, and the TDSAT has scheduled a special hearing on Saturday.

The TRAI-initiated move would have brought down international long distance tariffs by 80 paise per minute.

ADC is a levy imposed on telecom operators to support rural telephony. Since BSNL has the largest rural subscribers, almost the entire fund collected is passed on to the PSU.

However, the telecom regulator has reduced the quantum of this fund accruing to BSNL from over Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 2,000 crore, which has hurt the company.

This is the second time that BSNL has challenged TRAI's decision to reduce the charges. Last year also, BSNL had filed an appeal, which is yet to be disposed off by the court.

The BSNL move comes despite assurances given by the Communications Ministry earlier that the public sector company had accounted for the reduction in charges and was, therefore, geared up for it. Last year, TRAI had reduced the total charge from Rs 5,200 crore to Rs 3,000 crore, which has further been reduced by 37 per cent this year.

BSNL officials said that the reduction in the amount was arbitrary and illegal.

"TRAI has said that the ADC is depleting regime. We want to know the rationale for taking such a stance. The number of rural telephone lines that BSNL is offering has not changed so why is the amount given to us to subsidise these connections being reduced. In fact, we should be getting Rs 13,000 crore as was decided by TRAI in the first place," said a BSNL official.

BSNL has also raised questions over the decision to merge ADC with the Universal Services Obligation (USO) fund over the next few years.

"USO fund is under the Department of Telecom, so how can TRAI take such a decision. The Government needs to decide on that front before TRAI can make such a decision," said a BSNL source.

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