In a letter, TRAI has asked DoT to clear up information related issues being faced by mobile phone companies so that they can comply with rollout obligations as per licence norms.
“TRAI said that operators have raised concerns over incomplete and erroneous information about rural Short Distance Charging Areas (SDCA) in the Northeast that the department has not addressed,” The regulator also asked DoT to clarify the number of SDCAs in various districts to ensure that Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) and 3G rollouts are completed within deadlines.
“It had sought progress reports from telecom companies that had acquired 3G or BWA airwaves, which in turn said that DoT had not given them final test schedules required for testing out the services before rollouts,” it said.
“DoT has also not finalised the list of rural SDCAs for Rajasthan and service licence areas in the Northeast, the operators added. In the rest of the service areas, the list of SDCAs has been provided but since some errors were pointed out, DoT is reviewing this information,” said officials.
