Trai meet fails to break Jio ice

New Delhi: The meeting called by the telecom regulator Trai on Friday to resolve controversy over interconnection between Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio and incumbent operators Airtel, Vodafone and Idea seems to have failed to make much progress. Though operators agreed to meet and talk one to one about interconnection in coming days, they remained firm on their respective stance.

The meeting also witnessed high drama with GSM operators association COAI director general Rajan Mathews barred from attending it. “COAI has been kept out of the Trai meeting at the insistence of RIL Jio, and Trai acquiesced to their dem-and in an unprecedented manner,” said Rajan Mathews, DG, COAI. Incumbent operators had threatened to leave the meeting over the denial of COAI DG to attend it. But Reliance Jio said that only stakeholders and those invited be allowed to take part in the meeting, said sources.

Attacking Reliance Jio on interconnect issue, Bharti Airtel asked Trai to find a way to curb the “massive asymmetric traffic” and ensure that receiving networks are not “abused by tsunami of free traffic”. “We urge the Trai to find a way to curb the massive asymmetric traffic to ensure that receiving networks are not abused by tsunami of free traffic. In this regard, interconnection usage charges is an effective tool in the hands of Trai, which we hope they will use judiciously," Bharti Airtel said in a statement in the evening.