The three private telecom companies are embroiled in a dispute with the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) over payments to Dubai-based ACES, a third-party vendor providing in-building solutions (IBS) for underground stations and associated tunnels on Mumbai Metro’s Line 3.
The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), representing Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, stated on Monday that the vendor model adopted by MMRCL is illegal and anti-consumer.
“At the core of this issue is MMRC’s decision to award telecom infrastructure deployment to a third-party IP-I vendor, in violation of existing regulations. Under the current telecom licensing framework, IP-I providers are prohibited from deploying active infrastructure,” the industry body said.
In an earlier communication to the MMRCL, all three telecom service providers had jointly proposed to install a common IBS network across the Colaba-Bandra-Aarey metro corridor at their own cost. In response, the metro authority had directed the telcos to route their services through the selected vendor- ACES.
“MMRC arbitrarily rejected their (the telcos’) request for Right of Way (RoW) permissions, citing the selection of a vendor through its internal tender process. This decision prioritises commercial gains over public convenience and stands in blatant violation of the Telecommunication Act, 2023, which guarantees fair, non-discriminatory access to public infrastructure for licensed TSPs,” the COAI said.
Estimates put the cost of setting up said telecom infrastructure along Mumbai Metro Line 3 at between Rs 150 crore to Rs 200 crore. Sources close to the development said that the said vendor is charging more than 80% premium over what it would cost the telcos to deploy the infrastructure.
According to executives FE spoke to, the telcos are being asked to pay a recurring rental in some cases on a yearly basis, and in some cases, monthly, on a per station basis for tenures of 10 to 20 years.
The telcos, in their communication, cited examples of past projects deployed along similar lines; a point highlighted by the COAI in its statement as well.
“Deploying such network(s) are a norm, even in important places like the PWD tunnel in Pragati Maidan or the Central Vista wherein the TSPs are laying infrastructure without paying any cost to anyone (including any third party),” the industry body said.
In case of the Central Vista building in New Delhi, the three telcos chose a lead service provider, which deployed the infrastructure, and the rest utilised it to provide telecom services.
In an email sent to the deputy town planner at MMRCL, a Mumbai-based telco informed the metro authority that it would not pay anything more than what it would have spent on setting up the infrastructure itself.
“We would also not agree to any loading of additional costs on us by imposition of an unnecessary intermediary with inflated costs,” the telco said in its email, a copy of which FE has seen.