The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday ruled out implementation of carrier selection across telecom operators’ networks for long distance calls.
Offers calling card solution
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday ruled out implementation of carrier selection across telecom operators’ networks for long distance calls.
Trai had mooted carrier selection norms earlier, but now says it has lost relevance.
Selection allows a phone user to choose his own network for domestic and international long-distance calls, irrespective of who his service provider is.
But with competition rising and new technologies such as number portability being introduced, Trai has said that the era of carrier selection is past us.
Nevertheless, Trai has recommended that national and international long distance
operators should be permitted to offer STD and ISD voice calls using operator-specific calling cards.
Although a bit cumbersome, this move is expected to give subscribers the freedom to choose a service provider.
“Through long distance calling cards customer can make long distance calls from telephone of any access provider,” Trai has said.
It has added that consumer can subscribe to any access provider and still not be dependent on the access provider for long distance calls.
Trai decided to go against pure-play carrier selection across telecom networks based on the changing scenario in telecom and after consultations with the stakeholders.
“The carrier selection has lost its relevance in the present scenario of high level of competition in NLD and ILD segment, reduction in long distance tariff, eventual migration to next generation network, huge cost of implementation of carrier selection and associated technical and operational difficulties,” Trai said, citing inputs from stakeholders.
Technically also, carrier selection is considered a complex and time consuming process due to different types of switching systems as well as old technology switches existing in their networks. Pre-paid and roaming are other hurdle areas for implementing carrier selection, Trai has found.
As for consumers, the regulator has said that they are not likely to benefit much by implementation of the carrier selection “as very little margins are available with NLD operators for offering a separate tariff of its own to the subscribers as well as reservation on the scope of enhanced quality of service through the implementation of carrier selection.”
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