Calcutta, Sept 9: Subscribers of fixed wireless phones (FWP) may have to pay a higher tariff now.

With the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) classifying fixed wireless phones as a limited mobility service, operators will now have to pay Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) an access deficit charge that is applicable to mobile services.

BSNL pegs the total outstanding from all operators for the fixed wireless service at Rs 450 crore. Of this, Tata Teleservices alone may have to pay Rs 300 crore.

Till now, FWP was considered as a fixed wireless landline service and, therefore, operators did not pay any ADC. With the new classification, operators have to pay the 30-paise ADC. This is expected to be passed on to the customer either in part or whole.

Industry sources said the charges could go up to Rs 2.10 for a pulse rate of three minutes against the current Rs 1.20. Operators may also choose to opt for a reduced pulse rate and keep the charges at current rates.

Tata Teleservices president Ajay Pandey said, “Whether it is classified as a WiLL(M) or FWP, there is a strong demand for the Walky. It can also be effectively deployed in rural areas and help increase teledensity.”

Regarding the amount owed to BSNL as a result of the reclassification, Pandey said, “We will examine additional demand notices for methodology, time frames and pay the proper amount based on today’s ruling by TDSAT.”

An industry source also pointed out that the order could spell a huge opportunity for fixed wireless service providers. Till now, these operators had to wait for a point of interconnection (POI) from BSNL to launch services. This restricted their expansion plans. Now, with the service being treated as akin to limited mobility, operators can launch it in any circle where they have a network, thus easing roll-out plans.

Besides the subscribers of Tata Teleservices’ Walky, HFCL customers in Punjab and Shyam Telelink users in Rajasthan will also be affected by the directive. There are more than 60 lakh FWP subscribers in the country, including those of Reliance Infocomm, which did not comment on the directive.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), which offers telecom services in Mumbai and Delhi also has an outstanding of Rs 40 crore for its ‘Garuda’ services, which are positioned as fixed wireless but are used as limited mobility phones.

Tata Teleservices had appealed to TDSAT after a ruling by the department of telecommunications that fixed wireless phones installed across the country from 2001 onwards will be treated as a limited mobile service.

“Walky should not be regarded as anything else but WiLL(M). According to licensing conditions, fixed wireless service has to be provided within the subscriber’s premises. Wherever it is not, it has to be treated as WiLL(M),” said the TDSAT order.