New Delhi, Apr 29 (PTI) Telecom operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have banded together and approached Noida International Airport Ltd., saying the deployment of a common In-Building Solution (IBS) for seamless telecom connectivity within the airport terminal should not involve any third-party infrastructure provider.

The telcos, in a joint letter, cautioned that any grant of exclusive rights to a third party to install In-Building Solution - active and passive - effectively amounts to appointing such an entity as a gatekeeper of right of way (RoW) and creating a "bottleneck".

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The telcom service providers in the letter said their position on the matter in the larger public interest is to ensure uninterrupted and high quality connectivity for passengers as well as for airport operational and maintenance staff.

"As licensed telecom service providers and rightful spectrum holders, we possess both legal authority and the technical expertise to deploy state-of-the-art telecom infrastructure at the airport," the letter said.

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The telcos further argued that third-party vendors are not permitted to deploy active telecom infrastructure.

"As per current regulations, only TSPs holding valid Universal Access Service licences (UASL) and spectrum rights are authorised to install and operate active IBS networks. Hence deployment of active IBS by a third party vendor would not be legally tenable," said the letter seen by PTI.

The three companies - Jio, Airtel and VIL - could not be reached for comments.

The trio in the latest letter also referred to a previous letter in August 2024, that also suggested not to involve a third-party infrastructure provider for the deployment of common IBS within airport terminal. The telecom operators rued that they hadn't received any response to their previous letter.

Under the prevailing rules, all public authorities controlling access to public space are mandated to provide RoW to licensed telcos for building telecom networks.

Additionally, no public authority is permitted to charge fees for RoW beyond what is stipulated under the rules.

While each TSP (telecom service provider) is entitled to seek and obtain RoW permissions for building in-building solution, the three telcos said they do acknowledge that space constraints and logistical considerations within airport premises make it more practical to implement the infrastructure in one go and preferably common infrastructure.

"Accordingly, we have approached your esteemed office jointly, so that installation and any necessary repairs can be conducted in a coordinated and efficient manner, minimising disruptions," they said.

Grant of exclusive rights to a third party not only contravenes legal provisions but also creates a monopolitic environment, allowing the third party to impose arbitrary and exorbitant charges on telcos, the three players argued.

"As such, we are unable to enter into any agreement with such entities for providing services to airport users," they wrote.

The installation of IBS at public facilities does not yield substantial revenue for the telecom service providers in relation to the investment required.

"Nevertheless, we remain committed to absorbing these costs to ensure reliable connectivity in the public places like airports. RoW permissions in such scenarios should thus be viewed not as a source of revenue by airport, but as a facilitative measures in the public interest," the letter said.

In the letter, addressed to Chairman of Noida International Airport, the operators also sought approval to conduct a joint survey of the airport premises, so that they can proceed with timely installation of the common IBS network without further delay.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)