The Cellular Operators Association of India (Coai), the apex body of private cellphone operators, has lashed out at the state-owned Bharat Shanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) for its suspension of inter-connectivity services in Maharashtra and Goa circle.

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Five days ago, BSNL suspended all incoming calls of some private telecom companies, claiming that they had failed to clear dues, owing to which consumers cannot call from most cellphone networks to BSNL landlines.

Terming BSNL’s action as “illegal”, the director general of Coai, Rajan S Mathews said, “We expect BSNL to act responsibly in the interest of consumers and take serious consideration of the extreme hardships the customers are undergoing due to misguided technicality.’’

According to him, the private operators have been paying their dues in full and such “discriminatory action” on the part of BSNL is unwarranted.

According to a press statement issued by Coai, BSNL continued disconnections despite orders of the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) clearly instructing the organisation to act otherwise.

“BSNL has defied the ruling of the appellate tribunal and disconnected points of interconnection of private operators in the Maharashtra & Goa circle, claiming non-payment of intra-circle carriage charges,’’ Coai stated.

The private operators have been urging BSNL to restore connectivity at all points of interconnection that had been discontinued from service. Coai claimed that the TDSAT order passed on September 30 clearly stated that the operators shall continue to pay intra-circle carriage charges to BSNL at the rate at which they have been paying since July, 2010.

In another statement, Coai said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on October 18 instructed BSNL to immediately restore connectivity to private operators at all points of interconnection in Punjab circle and report compliance to it by October 21.

“Coai is hopeful that BSNL, in keeping with the spirit of the Trai directive, will also restore connectivity to private operators in other circles like Maharashtra, Goa and Rajasthan,” it said.

However, the principal general manager of BSNL, VK Mahendra, maintained that no instructions have been issued by the state-owned telecom major to restore connectivity.