9/25/2002 3:53:17 PM

Advani steps in to resolve VSNL, BSNL-MTNL row

NEW DELHI: Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani on Tuesday called a meeting of communications minister Pramod Mahajan and disinvestment minister Arun Shourie to find a way out of the impasse following BSNL and MTNL’s threat to hang up on VSNL if the Tata-controlled company did not offer cheaper rates for carrying calls from the state-owned carriers.

Finance minister Jaswant Singh, who heads the group of ministers on infotech, also attended the meeting.

Mahajan had said that if VSNL did not match the rates offered by new entrants like Bharti and Data Access by October 1, the state-owned firms would route their overseas calls through the other private operators. BSNL and MTNL have said VSNL should match the Rs 18-a-minute revenue share offered by the new long-distance carriers on a Rs 24-per-minute overseas call. Bharti Telesonic offers Rs 15 per minute to BSNL and MTNL and Rs 8 to the international operator, retaining just Rs 1.

According to VSNL’s agreement, MTNL and BSNL were to get only Rs 13, international operator Rs 9 and VSNL Rs 2.

The shareholder agreement signed between the government and the Tatas at the time of VSNL’s privatisation stipulates that it will remain the favoured carrier for BSNL and MTNL overseas calls, provided the privatised firm matches the rates of its competitors. The Tatas have said that matching the revenue share offered by rivals would substantially erode VSNL’s income and any diversion of telecom traffic would be a breach of the agreement.

Source: The Times of India

9/26/2002 7:18:35 AM

Interconnect issue to be taken up on October 5

MUMBAI: VSNL can breathe easy till October 5 when the next ministerial meeting will be held to sort out the interconnect dispute between VSNL and BSNL-MTNL after talks held on Tuesday proved inconclusive. “Till such time, it is unlikely that BSNL-MTNL will take any action,” said telecom minister Pramod Mahajan.

Mahajan was speaking to the media at the Nasscom Gartner Summit 2002. “We learnt about the Gandhinagar terrorist attack just five minutes before the our meeting. Despite an hour long discussion, the meeting was interrupted every five minutes due to news about the Gandhinagar incident. Hence, the meeting was inconclusive,”        he explained. Mr Mahajan, disinvestment minister Arun Shourie, and finance minister Jaswant Singh took part in the meeting, which was presided over by deputy prime minister LK Advani.

Mahajan also pointed out that BSNL was providing interconnect facilities to VSNL, despite their interconnect agreement had lapsed as of March 31, ’02, and a fresh agreement had not yet been signed: “How can you do business without an agreement?”

An agreement should be signed under protest. You can later approach the telecom regulatory body to sort out the problem,” he added.

“I have been told that VSNL has not paid any dues for the past six months to the PSUs,” said Mahajan. He hoped that VSNL would sign an agreement shortly. Mr Mahajan said that he had several rounds of meetings with Ratan Tata (twice), VSNL MD SK Gupta (twice) and once with N Srinath, director, VSNL, but they could not arrive at a solution.

He pointed out that there are no happy endings where interconnect agreements are concerned.

“These are global issues, nobody is happy to share money,” he said. On asking for a joint meeting of all operators concerned to sort out the interconnect issue, he said that his efforts to find a solution had not been appreciated by the media, which said that he was usurping the regulatory body’s powers.

Source: The Economic Times

9/26/2002 3:24:28 PM

VSNL-BSNL disconnect is on
 
MUMBAI: VSNL has suggested to BSNL a new 50:50 revenue sharing arrangement for incoming international calls. The suggestion, among other things, is mainly to lower the tariff for ILD customers.
The proposal is in response to BSNL’s offer of a revenue sharing ratio of 80:20 for incoming international calls and a revenue share of 75:25 for outgoing international calls.
According to sources familiar with the ongoing discussions, VSNL has stated that the existing rates offered by BSNL are monopolistic and not market-related.VSNL officials did not comment on the development, stating that discussions were underway with both BSNL and MTNL.
While a customer pays Rs 23 a minute for an international outgoing call, BSNL keeps Rs 16-17 with itself while VSNL is left with Rs 6-7, which, VSNL says, denies it the latitude to reduce customer charges.
‘‘With national long distance (NLD) rates being in the range of Rs 2.40 (for 50-200 km) to Rs 9 (for over 500 km), there is no logic why international calls, which are in effect NLD calls within the country, are charged higher, an industry official said.

‘‘At the current rates, VSNL cannot be consumer friendly because of the steep interconnectivity charges paid to BSNL and MTNL,’’ he said.

Source: The Economic Times