CPP still a distant dream
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 1 — The much-awaited telecom scheme “Calling Party Pays (CPP)” — commonly used to identify the free incoming call service on mobile phones — did not start as scheduled today, thus putting on hold plans of expansion of cellular operators and that of the Department of Telecom (DoT).

This may not only have led to losses in the region of Rs 50 lakh for the telecom companies but also a loss in incalculable man hours and time spent on the project. Several potential subscribers, who were waiting for the CPP to start before they could opt for mobile phones, have also put their plans on hold.

This has created a situation where handsets and cash cards had been purchased in bulk by retailers, expecting a rush of potential subscribers around Divali, a source in the telecom sector said.

The CPP could not be implemented today as the Delhi High Court has stayed an order of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the issue.

Mr Prithipal Singh, Principal General Manager, Telecom (PGMT), confirmed that the CPP was not enforced in the city today due to the stay granted by the Delhi High Court.

He confirmed that all reprogramming of the billing cycle, besides other related aspects, had been carried out and were ready. The routing of the calls made from DoT phones to mobile phones was also in place, he added. Further, another official added, telephone lines had been augmented to handle the expected rush of callers between DoT phones and mobile phones. All this has been put on hold.

At the subscriber level, some of the users said that they were unaware that the CPP had not been implemented. Thinking that incoming calls had been made free, several mobile phone users extended their conversations than the usual 45 seconds or a minute.

Sources in the telecom sector said that additional equipment had been purchased by the two mobile phone operators in Punjab and Haryana. This was done to deal with the expected rush of callers using more mobile services once the CPP was implemented. It is estimated that cellular service providers in Punjab and Haryana may have sunk in anything between Rs 45 lakh and Rs 50 lakh.

Out of this, close to 50 per cent may be on equipment, software programming and other aspects. The service providers had also stepped up their advertising campaigns in the past couple of weeks with an eye on potential subscribers.

Meanwhile, reports from Delhi said that the Supreme Court today dismissed a petition filed by the TRAI challenging the stay granted by the Delhi High Court on the implementation of the CPP.