BSNL, pvt telcos spar over shift to IP-based interconnection

PRIVATE TELECOM OPERATORS, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea, have locked horns with state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) over the cost of transition of the interconnection framework.

- OJASVI GUPTA

While private telcos have urged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to mandate a shift to Licensed Service Areas (LSA) level, IP-based interconnection, BSNL said it has invested heavily in Long Distance Charging Area (LDCA) level infrastructure over the years, and a shift now to comply with LSA regulations could strand its assets and impose unrecovered costs.