9/27/2002 9:13:44 AM

Call barring: private cellular networks to block BSNL traffic

KOLKATA: The country's private cellular players are about to spoil BSNL's mobile bash. They have decided to bar all BSNL mobile traffic emanating from cell-numbers prefixed with the brand new 94 access-level.

Accordingly, all BSNL mobile subscribers allotted 10-digit cell-numbers prefixed with 94 (as opposed to the present 98 access level) will be unable to dial into or receive calls from any private cellular network.

The private cellular industry’s decision to play hardball has been provoked by DoT’s decision to allot an exclusive cellular numbering plan (access level 94) to BSNL, which is “expected to confer an unfair marketing advantage to the state-owned telecom behemoth,” top sources at the Cellular Operators Association India (COAI) told The Economic Times.

The country’s biggest private cellular heavyweights have decided to bar BSNL from picking up and delivering mobile traffic after the issue was debated at a recent meeting of the COAI’s technology and regulatory affairs committee. Top officials from Idea Cellular, Hutch, Reliance, BPL, Bharti and Escotel participated in the meeting, sources said.

Significantly, the private cellular operators have also asked BSNL to invest in separate 'points of interconnect' (PoIs) with each private licensee for routing their mobile traffic.

The existing PoIs are only meant for routing BSNL’s fixed-line and NLDO traffic. “But since BSNL, in the capacity of a cellular operator, is an interconnect seeker, it must augment the existing PoIs or invest in new inter-connect links to deliver its mobile traffic on private cellular networks,” top COAI circles told <b>The Economic Times</b>.

“We have apprised both, DoT and Trai, on the government’s arbitrary move to allot a brand new access level 94 to BSNL alone, superseding the existing 98 cellular numbering plan...but since there’s been no response, all COAI members have decided to block the 94 access level till the matter is resolved by the Trai/DoT,” top COAI sources said.

Elaborating, they said “an exclusive numbering plan also means one mobile operator, BSNL, will enjoy an unfair marketing identity advantage besides an exclusive repository of 100 million numbers...at present, the entire cellular industry has been allotted numbers under 98. 

Strangely, exclusive allotment of 94 to BSNL comes at a time when the existing 98 remains grossly under-utilised.

Source: The Economic Times