New Delhi, Feb 01: Telecom regulator Trai has asked Tata Teleservices for clarification whether the company was providing WLL based limited mobility services beyond its licensed area in Delhi.

"Trai is in receipt of a complaint that Tata Teleservices is providing WLL services beyond its licensed area of Delhi, that is Gurgaon, Noida and Ghaziabad," Trai said in its letter to the company. It is pertinent to mention that WLL services are permissible only in the Short Distance Charging Area (SDCA) which is equivalent to a local call area.

According to sources, Trai was in receipt of complaints from some of the private cellular operators and their apex association.

Trai has asked Tatas to give their response by Monday.

Tata Teleservices officials were not immediately available for comment.

WLL based services have been in the midst of controversy for the past over one year ever since government allowed basic telecom operators to offer these service as part of their licence.

The cellular operators have been raising the issue that WLL cannot be permitted to basic operators without the same entry conditions like entry fee and charges for spectrum among other factors.

Currently a host of basic operators including MTNL, BSNL, Tata Teleservices and HFCL are offering these services while Reliance Infocom is gearing up to offer WLL based services.

The cellular operators have also been raising the issue that though WLL is called limited mobility but technology allowed unlimited coverage and hence there was a possibility of clash with their services.

Trai has asked Tatas to provide the details of their services before taking any further action.
Bureau Report