COAI asks govt to enforce V5.2 use on FSPs

Neeraja Kumar

New Delhi, Aug 26: THE Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has demanded that the government implement “the law of the land” as far as enforcing the use of V5.2 interface on fixed service providers (FSPs) and revenue share of 5:95 in case of long distance calls made from mobile wireless in local loop (WLL) code division multiple access (CDMA) handsets.

A representation to this effect was made by the COAI to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The COAI has demanded that use of mobile switching centre (MSC) should be prohibited.

It may be recalled that the TRAI had earlier recommended the mandatory use of the V5.2 interface to limit mobility. The Group on Telecom and IT Convergence (GoT-IT) had also recommended that in case a subscriber uses mobile WLL handsets to make long distance calls, then 95 per cent of the revenue should be given to the long-distance service provider, as in the case of long-distance calls made from mobile handsets.

COAI has urged TRAI to use the powers conferred on it under Section 11(b) empowering it to enforce terms and conditions. The representation, a copy of which has also been sent to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) also requests the TRAI to “intervene and ensure compliance with the law of the land”.

Cellular operators have said that even though the case on whether FSPs should be allowed to provide limited mobility at all, is pending with the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), the existing terms and conditions should be enforced in the meanwhile.