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Telecom Regulatory Authority of India

Notification
New Delhi, the 12th July 2002

No 409-10/2002-TRAI (FN)

In exercise of the powers conferred upon it under section 36 read with clauses (ii), (iii) and (iv)
of sub section (b) of Section 11 (1) of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 as
amended by TRAI (Amendment) Act, 2000, to ensure effective interconnection between
different service providers and to regulate arrangements amongst service providers of sharing
their revenue derived from providing telecommunication services, the Telecom Regulatory
Authority of India hereby makes the following Regulation.

THE TELECOMMUNICATION INTERCONNECTION (REFERENCE

INTERCONNECT OFFER) REGULATION, 2002 ( 2 of 2002)

Section I
1. Title, Extent and Commencement

(i) The Regulation shall be called "The Telecommunication Interconnection (Reference

Interconnect Offer)" Regulation, (The Regulation).

(ii) The Regulation envisages publishing of Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) by the
telecommunication service providers holding significant market power based on the
Model RIO annexed hereto as annex 'B'. The RIO will stipulate the concerned
service provider's terms and conditions on which it will agree to interconnect its
network with the network of any other service provider seeking interconnection. The
interconnection seeker may either accept this offer in full and enter into an
Interconnection Agreement with the offerer i.e. the service provider on that basis or
accept the offer pending execution of an Individualised Agreement after
negotiations.
(iii) The Regulation is in addition and not in derogation of the other existing
Regulations/Orders on interconnection

(iv) The Regulation shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from the date of
its publication in the official Gazette.

Section II
2. Definitions
In this Regulation, unless the context otherwise requires:

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(i) "Act" means the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 as amended by
TRAI (Amendment) Act, 2000.

(ii) "Activity" would mean and include any one or more of the following:
(a) Subscriber base
(b) Turnover
(c) Switching Capacity
(d) Volume of Traffic

(iii) "Authority" means the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

(iv) "GUIDELINES" mean the guidelines to RIO issued by the Authority and as amended
from time to time.

(v) "Interconnection" means the commercial and technical arrangements under which
service providers connect their equipment, networks and services to enable their
customers to have access to the customers, services and networks of other service
providers.
(vi) "Interconnection Provider" means the service provider to whose network an
interconnection is sought for providing telecommunication services.

(vii) "Interconnection Seeker" means the service provider who seeks interconnection to
the network of the interconnection provider.

(viii) "Order" means the order issued by the Authority pursuant to the powers granted to it
under Section 11 (2) of the Act.

(ix) "The Regulation" means The Telecommunication Interconnection (Reference

Interconnect Offer) Regulation 2002.
(x) "Regulations" mean the Regulations issued by the Authority pursuant to the powers
granted to it under Section 36 of the Act.

(xi) "RIO" means the Reference Interconnect Offer published by a Party prescribing
conditions by fulfilling which other Parties would be entitled to obtain interconnection
with its network.
(xii) "Acceptance" means an acceptance of the terms and conditions contained in the
RIO either unconditionally or conditionally.

(xiii) Words and expressions used in the Regulation and not defined but defined in the
Act shall have the same meanings as assigned to them in the Act.

Section III
3. Reference Interconnect Offer

3.1 A Service Provider with significant market power shall be required to publish within 90
days of issue of this Regulation, a Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) describing inter-alia the
technical and commercial conditions for interconnection based on the model RIO as at annex
'B' and the guideline as at annex "C", as modified from time to time, with the prior approval of
the Authority. The RIO so published by the Service Provider shall form the basis for all
Interconnection Agreements to be executed hereafter.

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3.2 A published RIO may undergo any change only with the prior approval of the Authority.
Interconnection Agreements are required to be entered into by and between all Service
Providers based on the RIOs so published, provided, however, that by mutual agreement the
two parties concerned i.e. the interconnection provider and the seeker may modify and/or add
to the terms and conditions stipulated in the published RIO for entering into an Individualised
Agreement.

3.3 A Service Provider shall be deemed to have significant market power if it holds a share of
30% of total activity in a licensed telecommunication service area. These Services are
categorized as Basic Service, Cellular Mobile Service, National Long Distance Service and
International Long Distance Service.
3.4 The Authority may review the guidelines from time to time.

Section IV
4. General Provisions

The services listed in the RIO, published by the Service Provider, shall contain various
conditions as required to meet the interconnection requirements of public network operators
after taking into account, the rights enjoyed by and the obligations incumbent upon each of
these Service Providers.

Section V
5. General

If any dispute arises with regard to the interpretation of any of the provisions of the Regulation,
the decision of the Authority shall be final and binding.

Section VI
6. Explanatory Memorandum

The Regulation contains at Annex 'A' an explanatory memorandum that explains the reasons
for the issuance of this Regulation

(Harsha Vardhana Singh)

Secretary-cum-Principal Advisor

Annex - A

Explanatory Memorandum
Efficient Interconnection is a pre-requisite for sustainable competition. Interconnection
Agreements are required to be executed between Service Providers interconnecting their
Networks with each other. These include Basic, Cellular Mobile, National and International
Long Distance Operators.

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Internationally there is growing consensus for formulation of advance regulatory guidelines for
establishing proper environment to facilitate interconnection. Availability of effective and
expeditious interconnection is one of the most important factors in contributing to the growth of
the telecom sector. Delay and disputes in the interconnection process hamper the growth and
scuttle competition. With a view, therefore, to avoiding such incidences, a framework has been
devised taking into consideration the practices followed in other countries as well as the
situation in our country.

An accepted Regulatory principle in many countries is to ensure that the Service Provider with
Significant Market Power publishes a Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) stipulating the
various technical and commercial conditions including a basis for Interconnect Usage Charges
for Origination, Transit and Termination. Following these, the new entrants can seek
Interconnection and agree upon specific usage based charges.

Taking into account the above practice and experience regarding interconnect issue, a model
Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) providing the basic framework has been prepared by the
Authority in consultation with the service providers. Based on the given model, the Service
Providers with Significant Market Power shall submit their proposed RIOs to the Authority for
approval, which when approved by the Authority should be published. This will, thereafter form
the basis for all interconnection agreements to be entered into by / and with the issuer.

The model RIO consists of Articles and Schedules and is accompanied by Guidelines. The
model RIO, which is generic in nature, brings forth the various principles and elements involved
in proper and effective interconnection. Schedules could be modified as per service
requirements, mutually agreed charges and other items. Annexes could also be added as per
requirements.

Model Rio (Annex - B)

RIO Guidelines (Annex - C)

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ANNEX - B

TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA

REFERENCE INTERCONNECT OFFER

Dated 12 July 2002

REFERENCE INTERCONNECT OFFER

CUM- DRAFT AGREEMENT

PREAMBLE

THIS AGREEMENT is made the day of _________, 200 between M/s ………………,
…………….., a Company registered under the Companies Act 1956 having its registered office
at …………………. hereinafter referred to as Party __ , which term shall include, unless
contrary to the context, its successor in business, legal representatives and/or its assignees of
the one part and M/s ………………,…………….., a Company registered under the Companies
Act 1956 and having its registered office at ………………….;hereinafter referred to as the
Party __ which term shall include, unless contrary to the context, its successor in business,
legal representatives and/or its assignees, of the other part, together referred to as the Parties.

WHEREAS, [Party __ is authorised under the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 to establish, install
and operate ……………. various Telecommunications Systems for the provision of ………….
Telecommunications Services in India]; or [ Party __ is licensed under Section 4(1) of the
Indian Telegraph Act 1885 to establish, install and operate a Telecommunications System to
provide …… telecommunications services in ……. on the terms and conditions specified in
such license]; and

WHEREAS, [Party __ is authorised under the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 to establish, install
and operate ……………. various Telecommunications Systems for the provision of ………….
Telecommunications Services in India]; or [Party __ is licensed under Section 4(1) of the
Indian Telegraph Act 1885 to establish, install and operate a Telecommunications System to
provide ……….. ……………. telecommunications services in ……….. , on the terms and
conditions of the license], and

WHEREAS, in order to provide the specified range of services to their customers in their
service areas, the Parties to the agreement are required to interconnect their networks,

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NOW, THEREFORE, this Agreement, witnesseth as follows:

ARTICLE 1 - SCOPE AND DEFINITION OF SERVICES

1.1 Scope

This agreement covers the technical and commercial arrangements for Interconnection
between the network of ------------ and the network of ------------- and stipulates the conditions
under which the respective networks of the Parties shall be interconnected to provide for
exchange of uninterrupted telecom traffic and the manner in which interconnection and other
mutually agreed services shall be provided and invoiced, to each other, subject to the terms
and conditions of the Licenses issued by the Government of India under Section 4 of the Indian
Telegraph Act 1885 and the Regulations, Orders and Directions issued by the TRAI under the
TRAI Act 1997 as amended by the TRAI (Amendment) Act 2000.

This agreement covers the following:

a) Physical Interconnection between the two networks (Schedule 1)

b) Charges for Other Services where ever applicable (Schedule 2)

c) Charges for Sharing of Infrastructure Elements, where ever applicable (Schedule 3)

d) Applicable Technical Standards (Schedule 4)

e) Interconnect Unbundled Network Elements (Schedule 5)

f) Interconnect Usage Charges for Origination, Termination, Transit Traffic (Schedule

6)
g) Interest Rates (Schedule 7)

All attached Schedules and Annexes shall form part of this Agreement. In case of conflict or
variance, the terms set out in the main body of the Agreement shall prevail.

1.2 Acceptance and Commencement

1.2.1 Acceptance of RIO

The interconnection seeker shall notify its acceptance to the RIO to the service provider. An
unconditional acceptance of the offer will result in a formally signed agreement precisely on the
terms and conditions contained in the RIO.

1.2.2 An interconnection seeker may also notify the service provider that it wishes to
negotiate an Individualised Agreement. In that case the seeker may obtain services on the
prices, terms and conditions specified in this RIO on an interim basis pending the adoption of
the Individualised Agreement following further negotiations and agreement.
Letter of acceptance of RIO shall be furnished in accordance with the proforma as at Annex -A.

1.2.3 Commencement

Pursuant to 'The Register of Interconnect Agreements Regulations 1999', the Parties shall file
this Agreement or modifications with the Authority within thirty (30) days of the execution or
modification of this Agreement including its Schedules

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This agreement shall commence on ……… and continue [for a period of ---- years], [or,
indefinitely], subject to the relevant clauses relating to termination. Note: The Parties may
specify terms and condition to be fulfilled before the Agreement becomes effective.

1.3 Amendments

Any modification to this agreement or schedules shall be based on mutually agreed

amendments signed by both Parties and registered with the Authority. Changes necessitated
by amendments in the Regulations, Directions, Orders, or License conditions shall be deemed
to be immediately effective and shall be incorporated as amendments as soon as possible. All
such amendments shall be filed with the concerned authority.

1.4 Definitions

Definitions included in the Indian Telegraph Act 1885, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India Act, 1997 as amended by TRAI (Amendment) Act, 2000 and Regulations, Directions and
Orders published under the Act, and license agreements shall apply wherever available and
shall take precedence.

In addition as used in this Agreement, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated
hereunder:
Act means the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 as amended by TRAI
(Amendment) Act, 2000.

Apparatus means Telecommunication Apparatus.

Applicable Systems means all necessary equipment, systems, sub-systems engineered to

provide the services in accordance with the operational, technical and quality requirements.

Authority means the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

Basic Telephone Service mean the collection, carriage, transmission and delivery of voice or
non-voice messages over the Licensee's Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) and
includes provision of all types of services except those which require separate licence.

Billing Information means information necessary to ascertain the charges payable by either
party under Agreement.

Busy Hour means the continuous one-hour period lying wholly in a given time interval for
which the traffic is highest.

BHCA means Busy Hour Call Attempt

Call Attempt means an attempt to achieve a connection to one or more devices attached to a
Telecommunications Service.

CCS means Common Channel Signaling

CDR means Call Data Records

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CLI means the process that identifies and transfers the identity (number) of the calling party
from one network to the other.

Ceiling(s) mean(s) the upper limit(s) of charges for telecommunication services as may be
specified by the Authority from time to time.

Cellular Mobile Telephone Service means Telecommunication Service provided by means of

a telecommunication system for the conveyance of messages through the agency of wireless
telegraphy where every message that is conveyed thereby has been, or is to be, conveyed by
means of a telecommunication system which is designed or adapted to be capable of being
used while in motion. The Cellular Mobile Telephone Service refers to transmission of voice or
non-voice messages over licensee's network in real time only. This Service does not cover
broadcasting of any messages voice or non-voice; however, Cell Broadcast is permitted only to
the subscribers of the service.

Customer means any person who is, or wishes to be, provided with any relevant
Telecommunications Service by a Party for which the party is licensed.

Directions means directions issued by the Authority under Section 12(4) of the Act.

E1 level means a primary PCM bandwidth of 2.048 Mb/s.

Effective Call means an answered call.

Effective Date means the commencement date of the Agreement

Erlang means the unit of telephone traffic intensity defined by the International
Telecommunication Union.
FAC means Fully Allocated Current Cost

Floor means the lower limit of charges for telecommunication services as may be specified by
the Authority from time to time.

Forbearance denotes that the Authority has not, for the time being, notified any charge or
revenue sharing arrangement for a particular telecommunication service and the service
provider is free to fix a charge for such service.

Gateway MSC means the MSC that interfaces with another Network.

GOS means Grade of Service

Interconnection means the commercial and technical arrangements under which service
providers connect their equipment, networks and services to enable their customers to have
access to the customers, services and networks of other service providers.

Interconnection Charges mean the charges payable for interconnection and use of Network
resources of one Service Provider by another Service Provider.

Interconnection Provider means the service provider to whose network an interconnection is

sought for providing telecommunication services.

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Interconnection Seeker means the service provider who seeks interconnection to the network
of the interconnection provider.

International Long Distance Telecommunication Service means telecommunication

services originating within India and terminating outside India and vice versa.

International Subscriber Dialling (ISD) means facility for direct connectivity between an end
user in India with another end user in another country by means of direct dialling through
licensed networks.
ISUP means Integrated Service Digital Network (ISDN) User Part

IUC means Interconnect Usage Charge

Leased Circuits means telecommunication facilities leased to subscribers or service providers

to provide for technology transparent transmission capacity between network termination
points which the user can control as part of the leased circuit provision.

LDCA is an area of the country, generally coterminus with the SSA, declared for the purpose of
charging long distance trunk calls.

LDCC is the nominated charging centre of an LDCA and represents the charge determination
for long distance trunk calls.

License Agreement means the Licenses referred to in the Preamble.

Local Call is a call originating and terminating in the same local area (SDCA), which is
charged at local call rates.

MSC means the switching centre that performs all switching functions needed for cellular
mobile systems located in an associated geographical area.

National Long Distance National Long Distance Service means picking up, carriage and
delivery of switched bearer telecommunication service over a long distance network i.e., a
network connecting different Short Distance Charging Areas (SDCAs).

National Standards means the standards set by the Department of Telecom {Telecom
Engineering Centre (TEC)}.

Non-discrimination in interconnection charge means that service providers shall not, in the
matter of interconnection discriminate between the similarly situated and similar class of
service providers.
Order means the Telecommunication Tariff Orders issued by the Authority.

Originating Network means the network to which an originator of a telecommunication

message is proximately connected to.

Originating/ Transit/ Terminating Service Provider means the service provider whose
network is used for originating/ transit/ terminating a telecommunication message respectively.

PLMN means the Public Land Mobile Network

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Point of Presence (POP) (as applicable to BSO) means setting up of switching center and
transmission center of appropriate capacity by Basic Telephone Service Provider at the SDCA
level to provide, on demand, service of prescribed quality and grade of service in a non-
discriminatory manner.

Point of Presence (POP) (as applicable to NLDO) means setting up of switching center and
transmission center of appropriate capacities by National Long Distance Service Provider at
the LDCC level to provide on demand inter-circle long distance services of prescribed quality
and grade of service in a non-discriminatory manner.

Point of Presence (POP) (as applicable to ILDO) means setting up of switching center and
transmission center of appropriate capacity by the Licensee to provide on demand, service of
prescribed quality and grade of service in a non-discriminatory manner.

PSTN means the Public Switched Telephone Network.

Point of Interconnection (POI) means a mutually agreed upon point of demarcation (based
on TRAI determinations/regulations) where the exchange of traffic between the two Parties
takes place.
QOS means Quality of Service

Regulations means the regulations issued from time to time by the Authority pursuant to the
power granted to it under Section 36 of the TRAI Act 1997 and the Amendment.

Reporting Requirement means the obligation of a service provider to report to the Authority
before implementing any new interconnection charge and revenue sharing arrangement for
telecommunication services under the Regulation and any changes thereafter.

Short Distance Charging Area (SDCA) means one of the several areas into which a Long
Distance Charging Area is divided and declared as such for the purpose of charging for trunk
calls and within which the local call charges and local numbering scheme is applicable.
SDCAs, with a few exceptions, coincide with revenue tehsil / taluk.

Short Distance Charging Centre (SDCC) means a particular exchange in Short Distance
Charging Area declared as such for the purpose of charging trunk calls. Head quarters of
SDCAs are generally SDCCs.
Service Impairment means any interference with or impairment of service over any facilities of
a Party.
Set Up Costs of Interconnection means the initial cost of engineering work needed to provide
the specific interconnection facilities requested.

Service Area means the geographical area specified under the license throughout which the
services are provided.

SLA means Service Level Agreement

SSA means Secondary Switching Area

Subscriber includes any subscriber or any person or legal entity, which subscribes to / avails
of the service from the licensee.

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System means a telecommunication network consisting of basic access, switching nodes and
transmission links, together with the operation and maintenance systems and network
management systems.
Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) means facility for direct connectivity between two end users
within India by means of direct dialling through licensed networks.

Terminating Network means the network to which a receiver of a telecommunication

message is proximately connected to.

Transit Network means the intermediate network through which telecommunication messages
from originating networks or other transit networks are transmitted and delivered to terminating
networks.
Usage Charge means the charge levied by a service provider for carriage of
telecommunication traffic on its network.

Value-Added Services means such services as may be available over a Telecommunications

System in addition to Voice Telephony or Data Services, and specifically those services listed
as "Value-Added Services" in the Regulations or Orders.

Voice Telephony Service means the Telecommunications Service that provides subscribers
with the facility for conducting real-time two-way speech conversation among them.

Working Day means any day from Monday to Friday, excluding holidays.

WLL (M) means the telephone service with mobility limited to the local area i.e. Short Distance
Charging Area (SDCA) in which the subscriber is registered. The system should follow the
numbering plan of the respective SDCA within which the service is provided. This service is
included in the License for Basic Telephone Service.

ARTICLE 2 - POI AND INTERCONNECTION PRINCIPLES

2.1 Point of Interconnection

The Parties agree:

a) to connect and keep connected their Systems at mutually agreed feasible Points of
Interconnection set up in accordance with the Authority's
determinations/regulations. Such interconnection shall be provided as detailed in
Article 3. The agreed POIs for each class of service are indicated in Schedule 1 of
this agreement. This may be amended from time to time on mutual agreement.

b) to supply the requested telecommunication services, facilities and information,

relating to interconnection, to the other Party as provided in this Agreement or
otherwise mutually agreed. Such facilities shall only be used for the agreed purpose
and shall not be resold to other Parties. These services and facilities are indicated
in Schedules 2 and 3.

2.2 Traffic Routing Principles

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Each Party shall carry calls offered by the other Party through its network up to the designated
point. In case the call cannot be so carried due to temporary network conditions, suitable tones
or announcements shall be provided as agreed to between the two Parties.

The levels and points at which interconnections may be provided for various classes of traffic
shall be as per the terms and conditions of the License Agreement and Regulations /
Determinations of the Authority.
Authority's RIO Guidelines and Interconnection Tables given therein, as applicable, would
provide details on various interconnection and delivery of inter operator traffic/services.

2.3 Arrangements at the POI

The types of traffic to be carried across the POI are indicated in Schedule 1. Interconnection
shall be based on CCS System No. 7, or on the R2 Signaling System, if CCS 7 is not available.
Other facilities such as CLI that are required to be provided are indicated in Schedule 2. The
transmission and electric conditions at the POI shall conform to the Standards in Schedule 4.

2.4 Co-location of Apparatus and Plant

Wherever it is possible, physical co-location should take place of the Apparatus and Plant
owned or leased by one Party and used for interconnection, at the premises of the other Party.

Wherever such co-location has been mutually agreed, essential accommodation and auxiliary
infrastructure shall be made available for this purpose within the time schedules for
interconnection. When a Party uses the premise and/or uses facilities of the other Party, such
as power etc., it shall pay a rent to the other Party. Principles for deriving such rents are
included in Schedule 3.

Article 3 - Interconnection Provisioning Procedures

3.1 Initial Demand

3.1.1 The party seeking Interconnection shall provide relevant information normally 6
months in advance on the location of POI, estimated traffic in Erlangs, BHCA, type of signaling,
and any other technical information required to facilitate planning.

A formal demand in writing indicating the number of ports and other facilities required, and the
time schedule, shall be separately placed on the interconnection provider.

3.1.2 The Interconnection provider shall intimate within a period of 30 days from the date
of receipt of such formal demand, either the acceptance or an alternative proposal for meeting
this demand fully or partially as well as the approximate dates for meeting the demand. He
shall also issue the relevant demand notes for the accepted part of the demand within 30 days
of receipt of the formal demand.

In case no response is made within 30 days, the formal demand will be treated as accepted
and interconnection seeker shall be free to deposit the prescribed amount for the required
number of ports. The date of such deposit shall be treated as the date of "firm demand". Such
accepted demand shall be met within 6 months of such deposit.

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However, Interconnection with a minimum number of required E1 ports as ascertained by the

interconnection provider, required for the launch of the service, shall be provided within 90
days of payment of the demand note, unless found to be technically non feasible. Subsequent
increase of interconnection circuits should be based on actual traffic flow and growth pattern
for a grade of service (GOS) of 0.5%.

3.1.3 On the acceptance of the demand, in full or part, the interconnection provider shall
issue Demand Notes (Bill) within 30 days of the formal demand, for the capacity to be provided.
The seeker shall then make the payment within 30 days of receiving such Demand Note (Bill).
The date of payment shall be taken as date of firm demand (The Date). Any change in the firm
demand shall be intimated within 15 days of making the payment, after which no changes will
be allowed. The detailed payment procedure to be followed in this regard shall be laid down by
the Coordination Committee (as defined in Article 16).

3.1.4 For the balance requested capacity of ports not likely to be met within 6 months,
planning action shall be immediately started. This demand shall be treated, as firm demand for
the next year and demand notes shall be issued accordingly.

3.2 The case shall be referred to the Coordination Committee for resolution in case of
disputes.
3.3 Provisioning & Testing and Commissioning of Interconnect Circuits

3.3.1 The capacity made available within 90 days shall be taken up immediately for testing.
The full capacity required shall be provided and made available for testing in accordance with
the time schedule indicated in the acceptance of demand or demand note, but within 6 months
of the firm demand.

3.3.2 If the demand is not met within the scheduled periods, the matter will be considered
by the Coordination Committee for further necessary action under this agreement.

3.3.3 Number of Ports indicated in the firm demand for each POI, will be the deciding
factor for determining the port charges in terms of the Regulations.

3.3.4 The party installing the equipment and requiring inter-connectivity tests shall, notify to
the other party indicating that such capacity is ready for testing as per National Standards. The
proforma for such notification and subsequent procedures shall be mutually agreed in the
Coordination Committee. Both the Parties shall ensure that the testing is completed within 30
days of provisioning.

3.4 Augmentation

3.4.1 Traffic measurements shall be taken by both the Parties during agreed route busy
hours for seven days, six months after commencement of service and every six months
thereafter with a view to determine further capacity requirements.

3.4.2 Augmentation for additional capacity for the next 12 months shall also be initiated by
either Party on the basis of such traffic observation.

3.5 Cancellation Charges

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3.5.1 If the cancellation of demand is made within 15 days of the firm demand, an amount
equivalent to 10% of the annual rent payable for the capacity cancelled will be payable as the
cancellation charge thereof.

3.5.2 If the cancellation of demand is made after 15 days after the firm demand, the
payment made towards port charges for the first year shall be forfeited for the cancelled
capacity.
3.6 Utilisation

The Party seeking the interconnection shall undertake to use the capacity so made available
for a minimum period of 3 years. If he fails to use the capacity, 50% of the rental for the unused
capacity for the remaining guaranteed period shall be payable forthwith. A Bank guarantee
shall be provided for the amount covering 50% of the rental for the agreed period of use, within
90 days from the date of firm demand.

3.7 Port Identification

Wherever a separate charging regime is applicable, the ports shall be separate and clearly
identified.
3.8 Damages

If within 6 months, the Provider fails to make available the interconnect capacity as per firm
demand or the seeker is unable to put in place the matching infrastructure to utilise the
interconnection as per firm demand, the Party failing shall pay Damages to the other Party
calculated as follows:

a) 1% of the annual rent for each E1 port (i.e. Port Charges) for each day of delay until
the connection is made available for testing, for a maximum period of 60 days.

b) The payment of Liquidated Damages shall not release the defaulting party from the
obligation to provide the ordered capacity.

Article 4 - Network and Transmission Requirements

4.1 Traffic Forecasts

Traffic forecasts are used for the planning of sufficient switching and transmission capacity.
Traffic forecasts shall be prepared and supplied by one Party to the other Party on the
following basis:
The Parties shall forecast all outgoing traffic of each type, to the other Party's System for a
period of one year at intervals of six (6) months for each POI. These forecasts shall be made
for the route busy hour. The first forecast shall be supplied within ninety (90) days of the
Effective Date and thereafter on the 1st April and 1st October every year.

All traffic forecasts shall be in terms of Busy Hour Call Attempts and Busy Hour Erlangs. For
these forecasts, time consistent busy hour of the exchange and routes shall be determined.

4.2 Network Engineering

4.2.1 Diversity and Alternate Routing

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Diversity may be provided by either Party in accordance with standard network engineering
practices. In the case of partial network/route failure, each party shall extend the same priority
to the traffic of the other party as it gives to its own traffic.

4.2.2 Circuit Provision

Circuit provision shall be made on the basis of the specified GOS of 0.5% on the Network -
Network Interface allowing for adequate overload safety protection.

4.2.3 Network Changes

The Parties shall inform each other, wherever possible, 12 months in advance of changes to
network configuration and facilities that may have significant impact on the engineering of the
other's network.
4.2.4 Calling Line Identification

CLI of the caller shall be transmitted to the receiving (incoming) network whenever requested
by that network in the course of the Signaling procedure and wherever technically possible.

4.3 Carrier Selection

Both Parties shall handle calls in accordance with the Regulations of the Authority and
procedures and guidelines laid down by the Licensor in relation to Carrier Selection. The
carrier identification codes allocated to the two Parties are:

Party A XX Party B XY

On request from any Party, the other shall supply information relating to its subscribers, who
have opted for a service offered by the former, or have requested for termination of such
service.

Article 5- Technical Service Commitments and Fault Repairs

5.1 General Commitments.

Each Party shall:

5.1.1 Be responsible for operating its own system and ensuring its safety.

5.1.2 Ensure that the Services it provides to the other party are of the quality comparable
to what it provides to itself and to its affiliates.

5.1.3 Maintain and repair faults on Interconnection Links in the same manner as it
maintains plant and repairs faults within its own Network.

5.1.4 The performance standards that shall apply for the various types of interconnecting
links between two Networks are indicated in Schedule I.

5.2 Quality of Service

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The Parties shall ensure that the respective interconnect facilities delivered at each Point of
Interconnection (POI) conform to the applicable Quality of Service (QOS) standards set by the
Authority and Technical Specifications set out by the relevant Authority [Telecom Engineering
Centre (TEC)], by the relevant delivery date, determined pursuant to the provisions of this
Agreement. The agreed QOS (including GOS) is indicated in Schedule I.

5.3 Fault Reporting

5.3.1 Fault reporting mechanism for interconnect operational problems will be worked out
jointly by both Parties and upgraded from time to time.

5.3.2 Each party shall advise its customers to report all faults to its own Fault Reporting
Centre. If a fault report is received at an incorrect centre, the complainant shall be
directed to the correct centre.
5.3.3 The party who first becomes aware of the fault shall promptly notify the fault to the
other.
5.3.4 If one party identifies a fault occurring in its system or if a major fault occurs, that
may have adverse effect on the other party's system, the first will promptly
inform the other party of the actions being taken to resolve the problem.

5.4 Network Restoration:

The Parties will manage their Networks to minimise disruption to Services and, in the event of
interruption or failure of any Services, will restore those Services as soon as is reasonably
practicable in accordance with the schedule set by the Coordinating Committee. Each Party
shall manage, notify and correct faults arising in its Network, which affect the provision of any
Services by the other party, as it would in the ordinary course for similar faults affecting the
provision of Services by itself.

5.5 Operating Instructions:

The Parties will develop and record in the form of operating instructions, a series of agreed
response times for different network fault conditions on the basis of following principles:

(a) Clearance of faults affecting the network will take priority over the clearance of
individual faults.
(b) They will automatically bring in any standby capacity available and/or carry out
network management actions to restore service.

(c) They will observe equipment alarms and carry out testing to identify the nature and
location of the fault in co-operation, as deemed necessary, with the other party.

(d) They will keep each other continually informed of progress on restoration of faults
during a breakdown.

(e) If temporary repairs are made by one, the other party must be informed of this fact.
Other party shall also be informed of service impact of temporary repair and the
estimated time of full restoration.

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5.6 Planned Maintenance works:

5.6.1 Each party will give at least 7 days notice of any planned maintenance work that
may affect the other's system.

5.6.2 Each party shall make its best efforts to minimise disruption and where possible
alternative routing will be provided. Equipment design and link engineering should
have such redundancy that for any planned work the prescribed quality of service is
maintained.

Article 6 - Technical Specifications And Standards

6.1 National Standards

Interconnection of Networks and Systems shall conform to National Standards as set by the
Telecom Engineering Centre and Regulations applicable to Telecommunications Services in
India. In the absence of National Standards set by the TEC and Regulations, they shall
conform to the relevant Recommendations of the ITU. References to typical standards have
been indicated in Schedule 4 of this Agreement.

6.2 Signaling and Synchronisation

Inter-network Signaling shall be on the basis of CCS 7 (ISUP) in the format standardised for
India. Other standard Signaling systems such as Indian R2, may also be used by mutual
consent if they fulfil the requirements of network integrity. The signal interchange points shall
be those associated with the POIs.
The systems shall be synchronised in a manner required to meet National Standards. Signals,
derived from the National Master Clock shall be used for synchronisation of the network of both
the parties at the Network-Network interface.

6.3 Interface Approval

Neither Party shall connect or knowingly permit the connection to its System of any equipment
that has not been approved by the competent authority for attachment to such Party's System.
Both Parties shall ensure that the equipment at the POI has been approved by the competent
authority in accordance with National Standards.

6.4 Transmission and Performance Standards

6.4.1 Transmission Interface

The normal interface for network interconnection shall be at the E1 level. However, higher
order interfaces may also be used by mutual consent. In case of interconnections involving
ISPs, nx64 kbit/s interfaces may also be used by mutual consent. National standards and ITU-
T G. Series Recommendations shall apply.

6.4.2 Switching

Switches shall conform to the National performance standards and ITU-T Q. Series
Recommendations.
6.4.3 Packet Network

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Packet switches and interfaces shall conform to the National performance standards and to
ITU-T H. Series Recommendations.

6.4.4 Speech Performance

Speech over the National network shall conform to the ITU-T P. Series Recommendations and
TRAI QOS standards. Allocation of impairments shall be as prescribed in the National
standards.
6.4.5 PSTN/ VOIP Interoperability Standards:

For Interoperability between Circuit based switching and IP based networks, the interface will
conform to relevant national standards or guidelines of Licensor/ Regulator. Media gateway,
Signaling Gateway and Gatekeeper shall conform to relevant ITU-T Recommendations and
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standards, as applicable.

Article 7- Network Management, Maintenance & Measurement

7.1 The Parties shall provide, install, test, make operational and maintain all
interconnection facilities on their side of Point of Interconnection (POI) unless otherwise
mutually agreed. The parties shall take full precautions to keep operational the equipment of
other party installed in their premises for interconnect purpose and shall also allow access to
duly authorised representative of the other party to such equipment for provisioning,
maintenance or monitoring purposes.

7.2 All measurements of calls and traffic and interconnect charges shall be related to the
POI. Where such measurements cannot be made at the POI, a mutually agreed procedure
shall be followed.
7.3 Each Party shall employ its own network-specific, Network Management System,
with a view to efficient traffic and facility management of its own network. In particular, he shall
make arrangements to prevent overload of other interconnecting systems.

7.4 The Network Management System employed shall be non-intrusive.

7.5 Each Party shall prevent any signal from its network or the Network Management
system from interfering with the other Operator's network, so as to maintain network integrity.

7.6 Each Party shall make traffic and link measurements, and inform the other about
any foreseen degradation in traffic performance, before it manifests through deterioration of
QoS, to allow the other operator to initiate any viable action for diversion or rerouting of traffic
through the network of a third operator.

7.7 At every Point of Interconnect between the two networks, congestion signal will be
conveyed through CCS7, wherever available.

7.8 IP Platforms

Each Party using IP based networks shall have a Network Management System based on the
Open System Protocol (OSP) for Interoperability of Multi-operator networks.

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Article 8- Network Integrity, Safety & Protection

8.1 General Principles:

8.1.1 The two Parties agree to maintain network integrity and to take measures for
adequate protection and safety.

8.1.2 Integrity of a network refers to the ability of its systems to preserve and retain their
original operational states and remain unaffected by interconnection with other
networks

8.2 Maintenance of Network Integrity.

Each Party shall ensure:

8.2.1 that adequate measures are taken to prevent the transmission of any Signaling
message across the connecting network, which does not comply with interworking
national specification;
8.2.2 that efficient arrangement for screening functions and rejection of non-compliant
messages are established to detect signals outside the Interworking national
specification
8.3 Safety and Protection.

8.3.1 Each Party is responsible for the safe operation on its side of the Network, and
shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, take all necessary steps to ensure that its
side of the Network and its Network operations:

z do not endanger the safety or health of any person, including the employees
and contractors of the other Party; and
z do not cause physical or technical harm to the other party's Network,
including but not limited to causing damage, interfering with or causing
deterioration in the operation of the first mentioned Party's Networ

8.3.2 It shall be ensured that in case the transmission of traffic to either party's network
requires power feeding, then not only the safety of the equipment shall be ensured
but also that of the personnel maintaining it. In this regard, safety requirements of
accidental human touch of feeding voltage as prescribed in Bureau of Indian
Standards (BIS) document no. IS 8437 shall be referred for limits.

Article 9 - Operations, Special and Manual Services

9.1 Assisted Calls

When the services of a Party are used for completion of a special service call or for supply of
information, the Party supplying the service shall be entitled to a fee for such service. This fee
shall be mutually negotiated if it is not specified in the Regulations.

9.2 Other Facilities

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Each Party agrees to provide access to its services/facilities to the other Party and its
customers at fees/charges prescribed by the Authority for such service or otherwise mutually
negotiated. All such fees for services and facilities shall be placed in Schedule 2 and 3, which
may be amended from time to time.

9.3 Directory Enquiry

Each Party shall provide access to its Public Directory Services for the other Party's
subscribers at the specified or mutually agreed fees. Each Party shall include the other Party's
information on Directory Services access numbers in their respective telephone directories and
Directory Inquiry Services.

9.4 Customer Services

Each Party shall be responsible for making arrangements to provide prescribed Customer
Services to his Customers.

Article 10 - Access To Interconnection Gateway Facilities

10.1 Interconnection Gateways

Any switch that is used for transiting traffic, from one network to another network in a Multi-
operator environment may be termed as an Interconnection Transit Gateway. The functionality
of such Switches should conform to the relevant TEC specification.
Operational and Planning requirements of the Interconnect Gateway shall be as laid down in
the Regulations.

Article 11 - Charging Mechanisms, Billing and Settlement

11.1 Subscriber Billing

Party A shall be responsible for billing………and Party B shall be responsible for billing ……...
Billing and revenue collection services to be provided by one party to another shall be carried
in accordance with Licensing conditions as detailed in Schedule 2. The description and
charges for such services are also contained in the same schedule.

11.2 Inter-Carrier Billing

Both Parties shall make arrangements for collection, storage and transfer of data relating to
traffic passing through their network to facilitate inter-carrier charging and settlement.

Billing System may be based on Bulk Billing or where feasible on Call-by-call basis with Call
Data Records (CDRs). The transit switch generates CDRs, which is inputted to the Billing
Systems.
For such CDR based systems, typically the following information is required:

a) Carrier Related Information

i) Identity of Originating Carrier

ii) Identity of Terminating Carrier
iii) Identity of Transit Carrier, if any.

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b) Geographical Information

i) Originating Charging Area Code

ii) Terminating Charging Area Code.

The agreed formats for inter-carrier billing information / CDRs are given in an Annex ___-.
Apart from transfer of information during the call, data may also be stored in appropriate CDRs.

11.3 Settlement

The interconnect usage charges (IUC) for originating, terminating and transit traffic payable by
one party to the other are indicated in Schedule 6. This schedule also indicates which party is
responsible for third party payments. These charges shall be subject to the Regulations.

11.4 Accounts

Each party shall send to the other a bill / invoice in respect of the previous month for the
amount due for all effective traffic sent to or received from the other party. Effective Traffic for
this purpose would mean answered calls. This bill / invoice shall be sent within 7 calendar days
after the close of the month for which the bill / invoice is made. The determination of the
amount due shall include:

a) The amount of POI wise traffic in minutes or call units as is applicable, handled
during the month, broken down by the type of traffic (local, long-distance,
international etc. as feasible) and
b) The payable amount for such traffic shall be calculated at the rates given in
Schedule 6.
In addition, the due amounts for other services and network elements (refer Schedules 2 & 3)
shall also be presented wherever applicable.

Each party shall be responsible fully for the taxes, if any, imposed by the Central, State
Government or any other authority in this regard.

11.5 Payments

11.5.1 The net amount for each billing period shall be remitted by the concerned Party to
the other within fifteen (15) days following the receipts by both Parties (the "due date").

11.5.2 Any payment not paid by the due date shall bear penal interest at a rate agreed to
from time to time and indicated in Schedule 7. This interest calculated from the due date until
the date of payment, shall be payable to the concerned party.

11.5.3 If any party issuing the bill subsequently finds that some charges have been omitted
from the bills issued, he may include the omitted charges in the subsequent bills at any time,
but not later than six months from the date of issue of the relevant bill except in cases where
additional billing becomes necessary due to the tariffs / rate changes notified by the
appropriate authority subsequently.

11.6 Errors and Reconciliation

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11.6.1 If either Party discovers an error in the reports, it shall promptly notify the other
Party, but not later than 3 months from the date of issue of the Bill, and the Parties shall make
such adjustments in accounts as are necessary to correct the error.

11.6.2 If the Parties dispute the accuracy of the traffic information or any related matter,
the same shall be referred to the Coordination Committee for reconciliation and settlement of
accounts, after making payment of the undisputed amount. The full amount shall however be
paid if the disputed amount is less than 2%. In case reconciliation is not achieved, the Parties
may jointly select an auditor to assist in resolving the dispute, if the Parties are unable to
appoint an auditor, the Authority, after a reference being made by either of the Parties, shall
appoint one or specify alternate measures for settlement of accounts. The cost of the auditor
shall be borne by both Parties. The amount payable after reconciliation will carry interest from
the due date at the rate of interest specified in Schedule 7

Neither Party shall be allowed to reduce any amounts reported or remitted to the other Party
pursuant to this Article as a set-off or compensation for amounts owing under any other
obligation between the Parties.
11.7 Security Deposits

Parties shall be entitled to demand Security Deposits/Bank Guarantees in accordance with the
procedure laid down in the Annexes. This is in addition to the other payable amounts
prescribed in this agreement.
11.8 Fraud and Default

The Parties shall cooperate with one another to investigate, minimise and take corrective
action in cases of fraud. Subject to applicable laws, information concerning defaulting
customers may be supplied to the other Party.

Article 12 - Commercial Terms and Conditions

12.1 Supply Of Service

The Parties agree to supply the services and facilities listed in Schedules 2, 3 and 6 at the
prices listed. These lists shall be prepared in accordance with the Orders, Directions and
Regulations of the Authority wherever applicable. If not so listed, they shall be determined on
the basis of the costing principles indicated in the Interconnection Regulations. The terms and
conditions under which such services / facilities are to be supplied shall also be included in the
schedule. Such facilities shall only be used for the agreed purpose, and shall not be resold to
other Parties unless agreed otherwise mutually. These facilities shall not be used for bypass of
traffic.
12.2 Third Party Rights

This agreement is intended to apply to the provision of facilities and services by one Party to
the other and shall not be construed as conferring rights of any nature on any third Party.

12.3 Costs of Interconnection

12.3.1 The cost of upgradation / modifying interconnecting networks to meet the service
requirements of the service shall be met by the Party seeking interconnection. However
mutually negotiated sharing arrangements for cost of upgrading / modifying interconnecting
networks between the service providers shall be permitted.

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12.3.2 Two years after the initial interconnection is established, the issue as to who bears
the cost of additional resources required shall be negotiated between the service providers.
The general principle followed in these negotiations is that each party should bear the
incremental costs incurred for the additional ports required for meeting the QOS standards
relating to its outgoing traffic to the other Party.

12.4 upgradation

Any upgradation of network required to meet National Standards relating to such shall be
carried out by each party at his own cost.

12.5 Exclusivity

The Parties may interconnect with any other licensed Party in India according to the terms and
conditions set out in their respective licenses. Neither Party shall require the other to
interconnect to its facilities on an exclusive basis.

12.6 Emergency Services

Access to emergency services of each Party as specified in Schedule 2 shall be provided by

mutual agreement.

12.7 Applicable Law

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the
Republic of India.
12.8 Assignability

Neither this Agreement nor any of the rights, interest or obligations hereunder shall be
assigned by any Party without the prior written consent of the other Party hereto.

12.9 Language

This Agreement has been executed in the English language, which shall be the binding, and
controlling language for all matters relating to the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.

12.10 Waivers

The waiver of the rights derived from this Agreement shall only be effective if made in writing
duly sent to the other Party. No failure on the part of any Party to exercise any right, power or
privilege under this Agreement shall operate as a waiver hereof.

12.11 Partial Invalidity

If any provision in or obligation under this Agreement is considered invalid, illegal or

unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, such judicial decision must, as regards
such invalidity, be strictly interpreted and shall not affect or impair the validity, legality or
enforceability of any other provision in or obligation under this Agreement.

12.12 Non-Discrimination

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Service providers shall not, in the matter of interconnection charges, discriminate between
service providers except on the basis of substantial cost-differential.

For considering the cost herein the factors like volume of traffic etc., which have direct bearing
on the charges of interconnection shall be taken into account.

Article 13 - Interconnection Usage Charges

13.1 Type of Charge: These are of the following types

i) One time set up charge for establishing/augmenting specific interconnect facilities

for example, all hardware/software modifications required to interconnect the
network of the two parties for handling each other's traffic.

ii) Rental charges for use of Ports and Interconnect links and other facilities.

iii) Usage charges for use of network elements of one party by the other party for
carriage of traffic.
13.2 Set Up Charges

Set Up charges shall be determined as per Regulations. In case major reconfigurations of plant
are required the cost charged to the other Party shall be in proportion to the asset being
requested/provided to that Party.
13.3 Usage Charges:

For determining usage charges for carriage of each other's traffic, both the parties will furnish
the details of their network elements cost as detailed in Schedule 5 to the Authority. The
Unbundled Network Element costs of both switching and transmission shall be worked out in
sufficient details so that usage charges for various types of interconnections can be calculated
based on various types of switches and transmission elements involved in call conveyance.
These costs shall then form the basis of the IUC for various types of calls and these shall be
entered in Schedule 6. Unbundled telecom network cost shall be based on the principle of Fully
Allocated Current cost (FAC).

Article 14 - Fundamental Technical Plans

14.1 General

The Parties shall adhere to the National Fundamental Technical Plans to the extent applicable
to their networks subject to conditions stipulated in the License Agreements.

Article 15 - Confidentiality, Liability and Indemnities

15.1 Each Party may disclose to the other Party such proprietary and confidential
(technical or business) information in written, oral, graphic or any other forms, as may be
agreed to, for the purposes of this agreement only.

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15.2 Each Party shall guarantee that the equipment / systems and other articles of the
service commissioned / provided by it for the purpose of interconnection or usage by the other
Party in terms of this agreement, does not infringe any copy-right or trademark or on
intellectual property rights of any third party.

15.3 Either Party must not use a trademark, service marks or trade names belonging to
another Party as a trademark, service marks or trade names without the prior written consent
of the other Party.
15.4 The conveyance of information between------------- and--------------which shall take
place, shall not constitute or imply the granting of any rights under any copy right, patent,
trademark or any other Intellectual property rights either at the time of conveyance or
subsequently.

15.5 Except as otherwise provided in this agreement, either Party may not disclose the
confidential information except in the following circumstances: -

(a) the disclosure is authorised in writing by the Party, to the extent so authorised; or

(b) the disclosure is made to any arbitrator or expert appointed to resolve disputes
under this agreement; or

(c) the disclosure is made pursuant to any applicable laws, rules, regulations or
directions of a statutory or regulatory authority or order of a court of law of
competent jurisdiction.
15.6 Each Party to the agreement shall inform the other Party of any disclosures made to
third Party prior to any such disclosure.

15.7 Each Party to the agreement shall ensure that the information provided by one
Party to the other is used solely for the purposes for which it is disclosed.

15.8 In order to protect such confidential information from improper disclosure, both
Parties agree to limit access to such confidential information to authorised employees/agents
who have a need to know the confidential information for performance of this Agreement and to
use such confidential information only for purposes of fulfilling work or services relating to this
agreement.

The authorised employees/agent to whom all or any confidential information is disclosed shall
hold it strictly confidential and shall not disclose it to any other person. Each Party shall be
liable for any disclosure by the authorised person(s) to any other person.

15.9 Neither Party shall be liable to indemnify the other for any claim, demand or
proceeding by any third party asserting that the use of any circuit, apparatus, or system or
software, or the performance of any service by either Party under this agreement constitute
infringement, or misuse of any patent, copyright or any other proprietary or intellectual property
right of any third party.

15.10 All written confidential information or any part thereof (including, written information
incorporated in computer software or held in electronic storage media) together with any
analysis, compilations, studies, reports or other documents or materials prepared by the
receiving Party or on its behalf, that reflect or are prepared from any of the confidential
information provided by the disclosing Party shall be returned to the disclosing Party or
destroyed by the receiving Party, when requested by the disclosing Party at any time, or when
this agreement expires or is terminated, whichever is earlier. In the event of destruction, the
receiving Party shall certify in writing to the disclosing Party within thirty (30) calendar days,
that such destruction has been accomplished. The receiving Party shall make no further use of

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such confidential information nor retain such confidential information in any form whatsoever.

15.11 The Parties acknowledge that the provisions of this part shall continue in full force
and effect regardless of variations, assignments or termination of other provisions of this
agreement. The obligation to maintain confidentiality of the confidential information provided
hereof and the undertakings and obligations in this part shall continue for two (2) years upon
the expiry or termination of this agreement.

15.12 Notwithstanding any provision in this agreement and unless otherwise provided the
Parties shall not reveal, make known or divulge to any third party in any manner howsoever
the contents of those aspects of this agreement (in full or in part) which the Authority has
withheld from publication.

15.13 Save as provided under this agreement, no news releases, public announcements
or any other form of publicity concerning this agreement or the terms of this agreement shall be
conducted or released by the either Party without the prior written consent of the other Party.

15.14 Each Party acknowledges that a breach of any provision of this chapter may cause
the other Party damage.

15.15 The agreement contains the entire understanding between the Parties with respect
to the safeguarding of the confidential information and supersedes all prior communications
and understandings with respect thereto.

15.16 FORCE MAJEURE

Neither party shall be liable for any breach of this Agreement (other than a breach for non
payment) caused by an act of God, insurrection or civil disorder, war or military operations,
national emergency, fire, flood, lightning, explosion, subsidence, industrial dispute of any kind.
The Party affected by such force majeure shall promptly notify the other Party of the conditions
and the details thereof. If as a result of force majeure, the performance by other Party of its
obligation under this agreement is only partially affected, such Party shall nevertheless remain
liable for the performance of those obligations not affected by such force majeure. If the force
majeure lasts for more than the continuous period of 90 calendar days from the date of the
notification, and continues to prevent the affected Party from performing its obligation in a
whole or in material part, the affected Party shall be entitled to, but not be obliged to, terminate
its agreement by giving not less than 30 calendar days written notice to the other Party. This
will be subject to the Articles on Termination.

Article 16 - Liaison and Coordination

16.1 Coordination Committee

A Coordination Committee consisting of both Parties shall coordinate all mutual activities
relating to implementation of interconnection, amendment of schedules, reconciliation of
accounts etc. and lay down the detailed procedures required for smooth implementation of the
agreements. Sub-committees may be set up by the Coordination Committee as may be
required.

Article 17 - Termination and Review

17.1 Termination

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17.1.1 This Agreement shall continue for the period indicated in Article 1.2

unless:

(a) either Party ceases to hold a licence under Section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act.

(b) an order is entered by a court of competent jurisdiction mandating the winding-up or

dissolution of a Party, or appointing a receiver or liquidator for such Party or having
a comparable effect;
In which case this Agreement shall immediately be terminated.

17.1.2 This Agreement also may be terminated by either Party giving 30 days notice to the
other in the event that either Party:

(a) breaches any provision of this Agreement; provided, however, that the breaching
Party has been notified in writing of its failure by the non-breaching Party and the
breaching Party has not remedied its failure within twenty (20) Working Days; and
the approval of the Authority and the licensor has been obtained for such
termination. In the event, the approval is accorded with conditions, regard being
had to the general interest of the customers, the same will be fully complied with
before the final act of disconnection of interconnection arrangements becomes
effective. Provided, however, in the event no intervention is made by the Regulator /
Licensor during the notice period, the approval of the authority shall be deemed to
have been accorded.

(b) ceases to carry on business.

17.1.3 Each Party shall provide assistance as is necessary for recovery by the other Party
of any equipment supplied by that other Party.

17.1.4 Termination of this Agreement shall be without prejudice to a Party's rights,

liabilities or obligations that may have accrued prior to such termination.

17.2 Withdrawal of Interconnection for non-payment

In case of default in payment, the creditor Party may immediately approach the
Regulator/Licensor for withdrawal of services, provided that the remedy to appropriate the
security deposit has been exhausted or there exists some such circumstances, which warrant
immediate suspension. This will be in addition to other remedies available under the contract.
Provided, however, in the event no intervention is made by the Regulator / Licensor during the
notice period, the approval of the authority shall be deemed to have been accorded.

17.3 Review

Apart from changes to Schedules and Annexes that may be made at any time by mutual
agreement, this Agreement may be taken up for Review by mutual consent whenever a
material change in License Conditions, Regulations or otherwise etc., takes place.

Article 18 - Disputes

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18. Settlement of Disputes

It is understood and agreed that the Parties shall carry out this Agreement in the spirit of
mutual co-operation and good faith and shall seek to resolve amicably any disputes arising
between them.
The settlement of disputes shall take place in accordance with the Act. It is, however, desirable
that before a matter is formally established as a dispute, reconciliation is attempted in the
Coordination Committee referred to in article 16.1. The Committee shall resolve the matter
within 30 days. The Authority may intervene at the request of either of the parties.

During any period of dispute, before or until resolution, a Party shall not disrupt services being
provided to the other Party, or take any other actions, which might materially and adversely
affect that Party's service

Article 19 - Notices

Unless otherwise provided in the Agreement, any notifications, service of process, petitions,
claims and other Communications requested or permitted pursuant to this Agreement, shall be
made in writing and shall be considered validly made when delivered by hand or by courier,
telex or facsimile once receipt is verified at the following addresses.

If to Party A:
_______________________
Attention:
With a copy to:

If to Party B:
_______________________
Attention:
With a copy to:

or to such other address or persons as may have been designated in writing by the
Parties.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have executed this Agreement as of the day and
year first above written.

[PARTY A] [PARTY B]
By: __________________________ By:
__________________________
Name: Name:
Title: Title:
Dated as of _________, 200__

REFERENCE INTERCONNECT OFFER

SCHEDULES

SCHEDULE 1
POINTS OF INTERCONNECT

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List of POIs

Station/Area Type of Traffic POI QOS

Note 1: Type of Traffic means local, domestic trunk, international trunk, special services etc.

Note 2: Outgoing, Incoming and Transit Traffic should be shown separately

Note 3: For each POI, a physical description should be prepared, separate from the main interconnect
agreement
Each POI should be described in the following format:

Item Description Remarks

Location of the POI Address:

Party responsible for setting up and Name and address
maintaining the POI
Physical description of POI Ex: Physical cable (gauge)
or channel interface (ITU-T
specification

Note: Both the parties will update Schedule I, at Circle level, at intervals of 6 months or when
ever new POIs are added in a licensed service area.

Performance Standards

Type of Network
Local Trunk International
1. System Availability

a. Group Down Time

b. MTTR
2. Bit Error Rate
3. Slip
4. Others

SCHEDULE 2

CHARGES FOR MISCELLANEOUS SERVICES

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TYPE OF FACILITY CHARGE DETAILS

Note: The types of facility may include billing and revenue collection, access to special services,
advertisement etc.

SCHEDULE 3

CHARGES FOR SHARING OF INFRASTRUCTURE ELEMENTS

TYPE OF FACILITY CHARGE DETAILS

Note: The types of facility may include space for locating apparatus & plant in buildings, sharing of towers,
leased capacities etc.

SCHEDULE 4

TYPICAL SCHEDULE OF STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS

S. No. Item Specification Remarks

1 Switching Interface G/PNI-02/01 & ITU-T E770 (PSTN and Mobile)
G/PNI-03/01 (PSTN & Private basic
operators)
2 Transmission Interfaces I/DMX-01/01 Dec, 98 & 2/8/34/140/ 155 Mbps
ITU-T G.703/ G.707 (3/96)
G.782/ G.783
G/VAN-02/01 Sept, 96 For V 5.2 interface
3 Signaling CCS 7 R/NSP/-01/01 Sept, 92 National CCS 7 Plan
S/CCS -02/03 Jan, 2000 MTP & ISUP
G/CCS-03/01 Jun, 94 SCCP
G/CCS-04/01 Sept, 94 STP
4 Other cases G/LLT-01/04
5 Synchronization G/SYN-01/01 As per National
G/PNI-02/01 Synchronization Plan
6 Junction Traffic G/LLT01/04 Maximum loading = 0.7E
7 Junction Testing G/LLT01/04
8 Higher Layer Protocols G/LLT01/04
9 Interface with IP I/RAS-01/01 Apr 99 Remote Access Server
Network I/TCP-01/01 Apr 99 TCP/ IP Internet user devices
10 Electrical safety S/SFT-01/01 May, 94
requirements
11 Quality of telecom TRAI Regulations ITU-T E 800
services

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12 Terms and definitions ITU-T B.13 All the definitions shall be

considered as per B series of
ITU-T Recommendations

SCHEDULE 5

Interconnect Usage charges (IUC) for use of Unbundled Network Elements

(UNEs) involved in carriage of various types of calls

No. Network Elements Total Mean Cost Annual Annual Minutes Av. Cost per
OPEX Capital of CAPEX CAPEX+OPEX of minute
per Employed Capital per DEL Usage
DEL per DEL (%)
1 Wireline/ Wireless
Access Loop
2 Local Exchange
3 SDCC Tandem
4 TAX Switch
5 Local Exchange
- SDCC
transmission Link
6 Local Exchange
- SDCC
transmission
Length in steps of
1 km each.
7 SDCC - TAX
transmission Link
8 SDCC - TAX
transmission
Length in steps of
10 km each.
9 Inter-TAX
transmission Link
(Intra-Circle)
10 Inter-TAX
Transmission
Length (Intra-
Circle) in steps of
50 km each.
11 Inter-TAX
transmission Link
(Inter-Circle)
12 Inter-TAX
Transmission
Length (Inter-
Circle) in steps of
50 km each.

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NOTES:

1. Based on the above average cost per minute/per unit indicated in the table, it should
be possible to calculate carriage/ access charges involving various types of
switching and transmission elements such as Double TAX call for transit, Single
TAX/ILT call for originating and termination.
2. The element costs may be different for different network sizes/ configurations.

3. This Schedule shall be submitted by both the Parties to the Authority and will be
treated as confidential.

SCHEDULE 6

INTERCONNECT USAGE CHARGES DERIVED FROM SCHEDULE 5

TYPE OF ACCESS/ NETWORK ELEMENTS CHARGE/ MINUTE

CARRIAGE INVOLVED
Originating Local Loop-Local Exchange-
Tandem Exchange plus
Transmission Link & Length
Transit Single TAX -Transmission Link &
Length (Intra-Circle)
Transit * Two TAXs -Transmission Link &
Length (Intra-Circle and Inter-
Circle)
Transit * Three TAXs -Transmission Link &
Length (Intra-Circle and Inter-
Circle)
Transit * Four TAXs -Transmission Link &
Length (Inter-Circle)
Terminating Tandem exchange plus
Transmission Link & Length -
Local Exchange - Local Loop

Notes: 1. Usage charges are generally derived from the costs of traffic sensitive network
elements, such nodes & links of the core network excluding Local Loop. The
cost of the latter is generally recovered from Rentals. However, the Local Loop
costs have been included in Schedule 5 in view of the unbalanced nature of the
traffic at present i.e. Rental being below cost. Therefore, the usage charge of
Local Loop has been included to cover the Access Deficit.

2. In case of two or more TAXs are involved, the Charges per minute shall be
computed in multiples of 100 Kms or part thereof.

3. Where distance insensitive transmission system like Satellites, then the separate
charges shall be specified.

SCHEDULE 7

RATE OF INTEREST

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TYPE OF INTEREST RATE REMARKS

Normal Rate of Interest

Penal Rate of Interest

Annex - A
LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE OF RIO _________

REFERENCE INTERCONNECT OFFER (RIO)

No. Dated the _______

To

Sub: Acceptance of Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO)

Sir,

1. We are licensed to provide the following telecommunication services:

2. (a) We notify the acceptance of your published Reference Interconnect Offer

(RIO).

Or

(b) We notify the acceptance of your published Reference Interconnect Offer

(RIO) pending execution of an Individualised Agreement in terms of Clause 1.2.2

(cancel the alternative which is not applicable)

3. We request you to provide the following interconnection and / or wholesale

services:
4. The designated contact person on our behalf is

Yours faithfully,

( ............................)
Authorised Signatory
Name of the Company
Service Area of Licence

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Annex - C

REFERENCE INTERCONNECT OFFER

GUIDELINES

Dated 12 July 2002

REFERENCE INTERCONNECT OFFER - GUIDELINES

1. INTRODUCTION

Interconnection agreements are required to be established between operators for

interconnection of their networks. These would enable smooth operation of telecommunication
services in India. Such agreements need to be entered into between all types of operators
such as basic, cellular mobile, national and international long-distance operators and also the
incumbent who provides a combination of these services.

To assist operators in arriving at fair agreements, it is customary for the players with significant
market power to publish a Reference Interconnection Offer. After the RIO has been accepted
by the Interconnection Seeker, a mutually agreed Agreement shall be entered into, within the
framework of the RIO.

Operators are not required to obtain prior permission for entering into Interconnect
Agreements, but these have to be registered with the Authority in accordance with the
Regulations. The RIOs, however, require the prior approval of the Authority before they are
published. Operators who do not have published RIOs may use the clauses of the Model RIO
for their Interconnect Agreements, after appropriate legal and commercial scrutiny.

The RIO attached to these guidelines is of a universal type that could be established between
any two service providers, for the interconnection of their networks. The types of networks
would be defined in the Interconnect Agreement. The agreement may be modified, to suit the
specific type of network and the special requirement of the two parties.

The RIO is divided into two parts, the main clauses and the Schedules and Annexes. The main
clauses represent the generally stable part of the agreement. The parameters that may vary
with time or type of network are placed in the schedules and Annexes. This means that the
main agreement need not be changed every time a variable parameter is changed. The
corresponding schedule or annexure may be changed as required. This makes the agreements
more compact.

2. PREAMBLE

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The Preamble introduces the parties entering into the Agreement. References are to be made
to their Licenses and the Services for which the Agreement is being entered into. In case
BSNL, or any party operating directly under the Telegraph Act, is involved, the separate
wording shown as an alternative in the clause relating to Party A, should be used.

3. ARTICLE 1
3.1 Scope
Once interconnection is achieved, the customer's interests demand that there should be no
unilateral discontinuance of service. The term "uninterrupted" is used in this sense and is dealt
with in detail in the termination clauses. The Regulations and Directions refer to the relevant
sections of the TRAI Act.

3.2 Definition of Services

Clause 1.2 identifies the two networks that are being interconnected and lists the schedules to
the Agreement. These schedules contain important parts of the agreement relating to charging
and technical aspects relating to each type of service. Additional schedules may be specified if
required. Only those schedules that are relevant to the agreement should be included. These
schedules may be altered by mutual agreement.

3.3 Registration and Commencement

Interconnect Agreements shall be registered in accordance with the Regulations. Clause 1.3
indicates the commencement date (effective date) and the duration. If the Agreement is of
indefinite duration this may be specified in this clause

3.4 Definition of Terms

Definitions given in various Acts and Regulations have been reproduced here. A few definitions
specifically relevant to the RIO have also been included. In due course the Authority will
publish a consolidated list of definitions.

4. INTERCONNECTION PRINCIPLES
4.1 Levels of Interconnection

The Points of Interconnection specified in TRAI Determinations and Directions are given in the
following tables. Interconnection is required to be established within 90 days under normal
conditions. The actual details of interconnection should be worked out in the Coordination
Committee set up under the Agreement.

4.2 Interconnection between Fixed Network (BSOs, NLD/ILD)

As per existing license conditions NLDOs are required to establish switching and transmission
facilities at LDCCs and may have POP at SDCCs and have to carry inter-circle traffic offered at
these centres. An NLDO may also carry intra-circle traffic by mutual consent with the BSOs.
The ILDOs may have switches/ POP at Level 1 (Primary) Centres and are authorised to carry
only International Traffic.

Based on the interconnection principles specified in the previous paragraph, the possible types
of interconnections are shown in the following tables.

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Parenting of a dependent Remote Switching Module [RSM] located in a SDCA other than
where the Main Switching Module is located may also be permitted, provided that the Operator
follows the National Numbering and Charging Plan in all respects.

4.3 Sharing of Interconnecting facility:

More than one service provider may share interconnection infrastructure like transmission
medium such as OFC and equipment for building up leased circuits for different operators,
subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement under which such infrastructure has been
provided.

4.4 Sharing of resources of interconnection seeker with others:

Operators could also share with the interconnection provider, resources of interconnection
seeker, up to the POI by mutual agreement.

PSTN Interconnections

Table 1.1 - PSTN to PSTN (Out-going Traffic)

Type of Call POI Remarks

Local At SDCC Tandem or Local Exchange BSO- BSO
level situated in the same SDCA as
per mutual agreement.
Intra-CircleLong Distance (i) Terminating SDCC / LDCC BSO- BSO (Far-end)
(Note 2)
(ii) Originating SDCC / LDCC, if BSO BSO-BSO (Near-end)
has no POI at the terminating end.
Inter-Circle BSO to hand over originating traffic BSO to NLDO (Near-end)
at the SDCC in the same SDCA in
which it has originated or by mutual
agreement as per licence terms and
conditions at the LDCC of originating
LDCA.
International BSO to hand over originating traffic BSO to NLDO (Near-end)
at the SDCC in the same SDCA in
which it has originated or by mutual
agreement as per licence terms and
conditions at the LDCC of originating
LDCA.
NLDO to ILDO
NLDO to hand over international
traffic at the Gateway Switch of ILDO
BSO to ILDO (Near-end) for
To the gateway switch of the ILDO in traffic of same SDCA
case the ILD Gateway Switch and
the BSO's Tandem/Transit Switch
are located at the same station of
level I TAX.

Table 1.2 - PSTN - PSTN (In-coming Traffic)

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Type of Call POI Remarks

Local Same as Table 1.1
Intra-Circle Same as Table 1.1
Long distance
Inter-Circle NLDO to hand over terminating traffic NLDO to BSO
by mutual agreement as per licence
terms and conditions in the
destination LDCA at SDCC or at
LDCC POI.
International Level I TAX where the ILDO ILDO to NLDO
Gateway Switch is located.

NLDO to hand over International NLDO to BSO

traffic to the BSO at the terminating
SDCC or by mutual agreement as
per licence terms and conditions at
terminating LDCC .
ILDO to BSO(for traffic
Terminating local network at terminating in same SDCA)
tandem/transit in case the ILD
Gateway Switch and the Access
Provider's Tandem/Transit Switch
are located at the same station of
level I TAX.

Note 1 New National Long Distance Operator(s) can make necessary interconnection
arrangements with other NLDOs, to ensure delivery of calls at places where POP is yet to be
established as per their network rollout obligations.

Note 2. Intra-Circle Traffic may also be handed over to an NLDO by mutual consent

4.5 Interconnection between PLMN (Mobile) and PSTN

The following table indicates the handing over of traffic between these two types of networks.

Table 2.1 - Traffic from PLMN to PSTN

Licensed Area POI Remarks

A. Metros
1. Local Call Transit Exchange (Tandem) To BSO

Local Exchange by mutual agreement

2. Inter-circle call Designated Level I TAX located in the Metro.
3. International Call Designated Level I TAX of NLDO (or) Gateway Designated by
Switch of ILDO if ILDO Gateway Switch and NLDO / ILDO
GMSC are located at the same station of Level I
TAX (Metro).
B. Circles

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1. Intra - Circle Call Level I TAX for both transit to other To BSO
LDCAs/termination in the LDCA in which it is
located.

Level II TAX for traffic terminating in the

destination LDCA, at the request of
interconnection seeker. POI below TAX level
may also be provided with mutual agreement for
terminating traffic.
2. Inter - circle Call The traffic can be handed over at the designated To NLDO
Gateway Level I TAX of NLDO through any one
of its Gateway MSC.

CMTS provider cans also handover traffic to

NLDOs at the POP situated in the LDCA at the
location of the Gateway MSC or MSC in a Circle.

NLDO to BSO
The NLDO shall handover terminating traffic in
the destination LDCA at the SDCC or by mutual
agreement as per licence terms and conditions
at LDCC POI.
3. International Call The traffic can be handed over at the designated To NLDO
Gateway Level I TAX of NLDO through any one
of its Gateway MSC.

CMTS provider cans also handover traffic to

NLDOs at the POP situated in the LDCA at the
location of the Gateway MSC or MSC in a Circle.

To ILDO
To the Gateway Switch of the ILDO if ILDO's
Gateway Switch and the GMSC are located at
the same station of level I TAX

Note 1 New National Long Distance Operator(s) can make necessary interconnection
arrangements with other NLDOs, to ensure delivery of calls at places where POP is yet to be
established as per their network rollout obligations.

Table 2.2 Traffic From PSTN to PLMN

Licensed Area POI Remarks

A. Metros
1. Local Call Transit Exchange (Tandem) To CMTS provider

Local Exchange (by mutual agreement)

2. Inter-circle call BSOs shall handover the call at the designated BSO to NLDO
TAX of NLDO in the originating Metro.

The traffic can be handed over at any one of NLDO to CMTS

the GMSC through a designated Level I TAX provider
of NLDO

NLDO can also handover traffic to CMTS

provider at the POP situated in the LDCA at
the location of GMSC or MSC in the Metro /

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Circle. .
3. International Call BSOs shall handover the call at the designated BSO to NLDO
(Out-going) TAX of NLDO in the originating Metro

To the gateway switch of the ILDO in case the BSO to ILDO(Near-

ILD Gateway Switch and the Access Provider's end for traffic of same
Tandem/Transit Switch are located at the SDCA)
same station of level I TAX (Metro).

(In-coming) The ILDO to handover at the Gateway MSC of

the Cellular Operator if this Gateway MSC and ILDO to CMTS
the Gateway Switch of the ILDO are located at provider
the same location of Level I TAX (Metro).

The traffic can be handed over at any one of

the GMSC through a designated Level I TAX
of NLDO. NLDO to CMTS
provider
NLDO can also handover traffic to CMTS
provider at the POP situated in the LDCA at
the location of GMSC or MSC in the Metro /
Circle.
B. Circle
1. Intra -Circle Call Level I TAX or Level II TAX of the originating BSO to CMTS
LDCA. If no POI is available at Level II TAX provider
then at GMSC of the CMTS provider subject to
mutual agreement.
2. Inter-circle call BSO to hand over originating traffic at the BSO to NLDO
SDCC in the same SDCA in which it has

originated or by mutual agreement as per

licence terms and conditions at the LDCC of
originating LDCA.
NLDO to CMTS
The traffic can be handed over at any one of provider
the GMSC through a designated Level I TAX
of NLDO.

NLDO can also handover traffic to CMTS

provider at the POP situated in the LDCA at
the location of GMSC or MSC in the Metro /
Circle.
3. International Call BSO to hand over originating traffic at the BSO to NLDO
(Out-going) SDCC in the same SDCA in which it has
originated or by mutual agreement as per
licence terms and conditions at the LDCC of
originating LDCA.
NLDO to ILDO
NLDO to hand over International calls to the
ILDO at the Gateway Switch
BSO to ILDO(Near-
To the gateway switch of the ILDO in case the end for traffic of same
ILD Gateway Switch and the Access Provider's SDCA)
Tandem/Transit Switch are located at the
same station of level I TAX.
(In-coming)
ILDO to hand over incoming International ILDO to NLDO
traffic to NLDO at the Gateway Switch of ILDO

The traffic can be handed over at any one of NLDO to CMTS

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the GMSC through a designated Level I TAX provider

of NLDO.

NLDO can also handover traffic to CMTS

provider at the POP situated in the LDCA at
the location of GMSC or MSC in the Metro /
Circle. ILDO to CMTS
provider
The ILDO to handover at the Gateway MSC of
the Cellular Operator if this Gateway MSC and
the Gateway Switch of the ILDO are located at
the same location of Level I TAX.

Note 1 New National Long Distance Operator(s) can make necessary interconnection
arrangements with other NLDOs, to ensure delivery of calls at places where POP is yet to be
established as per their network rollout obligations.

Note 2: Different level 1 TAXs can be designated for terminating calls from different circles, in
case a circle has more than one level 1 TAX.

Arrangements at the POI

4.6
The complete definition of all classes of POI requires to be entered into Schedule 1. This
should cover location, physical and electrical properties, transmission definitions, signalling,
type and direction of traffic, information passing across the POI, quality of service and other
significant parameters.

4.7 Network Elements

A party may supply network elements, such as accommodation in buildings and on towers,
leased circuits, leased switch capacity etc. All agreed rental charges for these elements should
be included in Schedule 3.

5. Interconnection Implementation

Article 3 prescribes procedures for the requisitioning of capacity for interconnection and
subsequent augmentation of interconnects capacities to meet the QOS standards. The time
schedules and penalties have been laid down. Interconnection will mutually benefit all parties
and it is therefore hoped that commercial interests, rather than application of penalties will
ensure prompt interconnection.

The article prescribes maximum periods, but the principle expected to be applied is that, as
long as capacity is available, reasonable requests would be met in accordance with the
requested schedule. The Coordination Committee established under the Agreement is
expected to settle all matters amicably.

While the requirement of Interconnect Seeker paying for interconnection is re-emphasised,

once interconnection has been established, each party should be responsible for seeing that
QOS is maintained for his outgoing traffic. He shall therefore pay for additional capacity
required for his outgoing traffic. The parties may, however, negotiate to equally share the costs
of augmentation.

Utilisation will be determined by reference to the Erlang B traffic tables and the traffic should be
measured over a reasonable period (say 3 months) before reference to the Coordination
Committee for surrender or withdrawal.

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6. Network Engineering

Article 4 prescribes rules for traffic and network engineering. Since interconnection establishes
a route between two networks, the peak traffic on the route should be used for engineering.

Operators are encouraged to use alternative routing arrangements to increase network

efficiency. Such arrangements may, however, cause overload on backbone routes at times of
congestion. It is therefore desirable to engineer backbone routes with a sufficient safety
margin.

7. Technical Specifications and Standards

National Standards are currently set by the Telecom Engineering Centre. These shall be
followed. A typical list of standards is given below. The list of applicable standards shall be
included in Schedule 4 of the Interconnect Agreement.

Where national standards do not exist, the standards prescribed by the International
Telecommunication Union shall be used. In case such standards are also not available,
international industry standards may be used.
Interoperability standards for VOIP are currently incomplete. Available ITU standards may be
used.

SCHEDULE OF STANDARDS AND SPECIFICATIONS

Sl. No. Item Specification Remarks

1 G/PNI-02/01 (PSTN and Mobile)
Switching Interface & ITU-T E770 (PSTN & Private basic
G/PNI-03/01 operators)
2 I/DMX-01/01 Dec, 98 & 2/8/34/140/ 155 Mbps
ITU-T G.703/G.707
TransmissionInterfaces (3/96)/
G.782/G.783
G/VAN-02/01 Sept, 96 For V 5.2 interface
3 R/NSP/-01/01 Sept, 92 National CCS 7 Plan
S/CCS -02/03 Jan, 2000 MTP & ISUP
Signaling CCS 7
G/CCS-03/01 Jun, 94 SCCP
G/CCS-04/01 Sept, 94 STP
4 Other cases G/LLT-01/04
5 G/SYN-01/01 Jun, 90 As per National
Synchronization
G/PNI-02/01 Synchronization Plan
6 Junction Traffic G/LLT01/04 Maximum loading =0.7E
7 Junction Testing G/LLT01/04
8 Higher Level Protocols G/LLT01/04
9 Interface with IP I/RAS-01/01 Apr. 99 Remote Access Server
Networks I/TCP-01/01 Apr. 99 TCP/IP Internet user devices
10 Electrical Safety S/SFT-01/01 May, 94
requirements
11 Quality of telecom services TRAI Regulations ITU-T E 800
12 Terms and Definitions TRAI Regulations ITU-T B.13

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8. Network Integrity

Integrity of a network refers to the ability of its systems to preserve and retain their original
operational states and remain unaffected by interconnection with other networks. Integrity
issues are crucial when multiple operators, service providers, and other players inter-work.
They provide confidence that this inter-working will not jeopardize the correct and proper
functioning of the individual networks and systems. Integrity is a broad term encompassing a
variety of issues concerning system structure, functionality and behaviour. This concept has
been introduced along with the basic rules.

9. Operations and Services

Apart from physical elements, operators may provide services to each other, for example
billing, revenue collection, directory enquiry etc. Schedule 2 should list and describe all these
services along with the agreed rates.

10. Interconnection Gateways

In a multi-operator environment the number of interconnections at a centre may be large. It is

possible for operators to provide, wherever possible, interconnection through their switches for
transit traffic between other operators. Charges for such services would be fixed and entered
into Schedules 5. A draft Technical Facility Schedule for such Gateways is available wit the
TEC.

11. Billing and Inter-carrier Charging

Each operator is normally responsible for billing his own subscribers, however, the NLDOs and
ILDOs have to make their own arrangements to bill customers for their services. They may
either bill directly or negotiate with the Access Providers to bill and collect revenue. The agreed
arrangements should be described in this paragraph and agreed procedures placed in an
appropriate annexure.

Wherever call carriage involves the networks of two or more operators, the collection from the
subscriber has to be then distributed on an agreed basis. The agreed basis should be entered
in Schedule 6. Article 11 lays down the rules for such transactions.

Billing settlement may be on the "cascade basis". In this method each operator settles with the
next operator in the chain on a bulk-billing basis. In the other method the operator collecting
the revenue from the customer has to settle with each of the operators in the chain, based on
the Call Data Record (CDR) containing identities of the originating, transit & terminating
operators as well as charging areas. This enables computation of network usage charge based
on the resources used in each network segment. This latter method is more accurate, but
requires more detailed information to be collected from the system by employing CCS7 (ISUP)
and sophisticated digital switching systems at gateway points. It is recommended that
Operators consider adapting this method for proper interconnect billing and settlement.

12. Commercial Terms and Conditions

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Article 12 lays down the commercial conditions. The cost of upgradation / modifying
interconnecting networks to meet the service requirements of the service shall be met by the
Party seeking interconnection. However mutually negotiated sharing arrangements for cost of
upgrading / modifying interconnecting networks between the service providers shall be
permitted.

Two years after the initial interconnection is established, the issue as to who bears the cost of
additional resources required shall be negotiated between the service providers. The general
principle followed in these negotiations is that each party should bear the incremental costs
incurred for the additional ports required for meeting the QOS standards relating to its outgoing
traffic to the other Party.

13. Charges for Originating, Terminating and Transit Traffic

For arriving at the usage charges (IUC) payable by one service provider to the other, based on
the cost of network resources used, the following principles may be followed:

z Unbundled element costs as a basis for the usage charge applicable to Origination,
Transit and Termination. This needs to be worked out on Fully Allocated current Costs
(FACC) basis. Once calculated these would be advised by the TRAI as benchmarks.
z Additional items may be specified by the Authority, such as an access deficit charge to
compensate the access provider, for costs the recovery of which is otherwise not
provided for.

14. Fundamental Technical Plans

This is a descriptive paragraph relating to Numbering, Routing, Charging etc.

15. Coordination and Dispute Settlement

Operational problems continually arise between interconnected networks, these may be

technical or relate to money matters. Before they develop into disputes it is desirable that they
should be formally discussed in a coordination meeting between the two parties. A formal
Coordination Committee should be established under the Agreement. This Committee will be
responsible for laying down detailed procedures in the light of experience and also try to settle
matters of difference. The Committee may also seek the intervention of the TRAI in matters of
interpretation of Rules and Regulations. If no settlement can be reached, the parties shall be
free to pursue other avenues for settlement. Article 16 relates to the Coordination Committee
and Article 18 to dispute settlement.

16. Termination and Review

The Interconnection Agreement is expected to last indefinitely, but may have to be suspended
or terminated under exceptional circumstances. Article 17 lays down the conditions relating to
these matters. Discontinuation of services to customers, however, requires the permission of
the TRAI and Licensor.

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