Responding to Cellular Operators Association of India’s (COAI) comment that Ringo benefits from zero interconnection charges, Bhavin Turakhia, CEO of the company said that a Ringo subscriber pays for data charges to the operator for every call placed via the app and that it (Ringo) pays interconnection charges to operators for calls outgoing to cellular networks. “Any argument made by incumbent operators or COAI that we are trying to exploit ‘zero interconnection charge’ does not hold good,” Turakhia added. Quoting an example, he added that as per current regulations, “an Idea subscriber making a call using internet telephony is paying Idea the data charges plus the 14 paisa interconnection charges. According to the telecom regulator TRAI, Wireless-to-Wireless attract a termination charge of 14 paisa per minute and Turakhia points out that TRAI defines ‘wireless’ as “full mobility, limited mobility, and fixed wireless access service”. Therefore, Ringo is required to pay the interconnection charge by law to the interconnecting operator, “which we are willing to pay… So, any argument that we (Ringo) would use any asymmetry in traffic or take advantage of any arbitrage or use zero connection charges is inaccurate,” he added. On COAI’s comments regarding the need to have own network for providing VoIP COAI also submitted to TRAI that under current licensing conditions, an operator holding UASL/CMTS/UL needs to have its own network to provide unrestricted Internet telephony; therefore “even a licensee which is not giving such access network to its subscriber (last mile), cannot provide Internet services/internet…
