JIO FALLOUT: TRAI TO FRAME RULES FOR NETWORK TESTING
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Monday began consultations on framing rules for network testing before the full-fledged commercial launch by a player, a move ostensibly taken in the light of the controversy that had erupted at the time Reliance Jio started its service. The Trai consultation paper has come after the Department of Telecommunications requested it to give recommendations on testing networks before the commercial launch of service.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Monday began consultations on framing rules for network testing before the full-fledged commercial launch by a player, a move ostensibly taken in the light of the controversy that had erupted at the time Reliance Jio started its service.
The Trai consultation paper has come after the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) requested it to give recommendations on testing networks before the commercial launch of services, including enrolling customers for testing, the duration of the testing period, etc.
The regulator said the consultation paper had been prepared to discuss issues, solutions, and the framework to bring clarity on the matter.
Incumbents including Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular had petitioned the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), alleging inaction by Trai on Reliance Jio’s alleged violations of the tariff orders and regulations.
Trai has said the telecom service providers are required to install applicable systems for providing services.
"It is important that all applicable systems are tested before the commencement of commercial services because a licensee has to ensure that its service meets the Quality of Service (QoS) standards prescribed by the licensor, or TRAI,” the regulator said.
Typically, before the commercial launch of services, mobile operators use test Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards to check the quality of its network.
However, the licence does not provide clear guidelines on testing the network and processes such as the timeline of testing, acquisition of subscribers during the test phase, limits on the number of SIM cards that can be issued, etc.
The incumbent telecom operators were worried that enrolling subscribers and free service before commercial launch by a player were leading to uneven competition.
They also said the volume of voice traffic generated by such test users, due to free offers, was choking points of interconnect, and impairing the quality of service of other operators.
To date, the need for specifying aspects of testing such as the definition of test cards, limits of test cards, and testing duration was not felt, Trai said.
The consultation paper has asked whether the service provider should be allowed to provide all the services free to test users even before the commercial launch of service.
The existing licence terms and conditions do not prescribe any time period for the test phase, i.e. beyond which a service provider should start providing commercial services.
Trai pointed out that in the past some service providers who otherwise complied technically with the roll-out obligations chose not to start commercial services.
The objective of mandating the roll-out obligations is to ensure that the spectrum assigned is effectively utilised.
The last date for seeking comments on the issue is May 29 and for counter-comments June 12.
"It is important that all applicable systems are tested before the commencement of commercial services because a licensee has to ensure that its service meets the Quality of Service (QoS) standards prescribed by the licensor, or TRAI”