Interconnection facilities to be offered on an unbundled basis. It should be provided on non-discriminatory and cost-oriented terms. Interconnection set-up costs should be shared between incumbent and entrant. Find out more about international principles and practices of interconnection.

Aug 11, 1997

COAI endorses and supports the best practice in interconnection regulation as enunciated in the WTO Reference Paper and GATT framework. It has designed a set of fundamental principles of interconnection.

The WTO Reference Paper and GATT framework lays down that Interconnection with a major supplier will be ensured at any technically feasible point in the network. It will be ensured that a major supplier will make publicly available either its interconnection agreements, or a reference interconnection offer.

Jun 15, 2006

Interconnection and retail price regulation are viewed as two of the most important aspects of telecommunication regulations in a liberalised environment and remain a high priority for telecoms regulators worldwide. India has one of the lowest fixed and mobile interconnection charges in the world. Current termination charges for fixed and mobile operators are set at Rs 0.30 per minute and many commentators believe that the existing call termination charge of mobile operators is below cost.

Feb 10, 2007

Spectrum was engaged by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) in order to understand the international trends in the determination for mobile termination charges and its relevance to the interconnection framework in India. This report represents the culmination of this work.

Feb 19, 2007

Spectrum was engaged by the Cellular Operators Association of India (“COAI”) in order to determine the fully allocated cost (“FAC”) and long-run incremental cost (“LRIC”) of terminating a minute of voice telephony on a mobile network in India and to recommend an appropriate cost-oriented price on the basis of these results. This report represents the culmination of this work. Its principal findings are that the current price of mobile termination in India is below cost.

Feb 06, 2007

Interconnection between the networks of different service providers shall be as per National Standards of CCS No.7 issued from time to time by Telecom Engineering Centre (TEC) and also subject to technical feasibility and technical integrity of the Networks and shall be within the overall framework of interconnection regulations.

Spectrum Value Partners has been requested by COAI to develop the FL-LRIC model taking into account the changed dynamics of the telecom sector in India since 2006. The model is developed based on a theoretical efficient operator. Data has been obtained from 4 operators (Bharti, Vodafone, Idea and Aircel) across 4 circles (Delhi, Maharashtra, Kerala and Orissa). This has been used to build the network of the efficient operator using a “hybrid” approach i.e. while the network design has been built bottom-up.

Nov 17, 2008