CellOne subscribers in Chennai Circle shell out local charges every time they dial 197
Some mobile calls land on the enquiry grid without jumpstarting the meter
Officials suspect the problem may be embedded in the server hubs in Tiruchi and Coimbatore
Apparent chinks in the billing software of the widely used ‘197’ directory enquiry service has caused confusion among mobile users of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) in Tamil Nadu.
To add to the general discontent over the duality of the service  toll-free for landlines and metered for the mobile segment some CellOne subscribers in the Tamil Nadu Circle claim to enjoy free access to the service, while their Chennai counterparts shell out local charges every time they dial 197.
It is reported that some mobile calls are landing on the enquiry grid without jumpstarting the meter, though ‘197’ remains a billed service.
For instance, S. Ragu, a college teacher in Puducherry, says he is able to make calls to ‘197’ from his pre-paid phone without charge.
Officials suspect that the problem may be embedded in the server hubs in Tiruchi and Coimbatore that network 20 lakh mobile users, including 17 lakh prepaid subscribers, in the State.
The Tiruchi Intelligent Network (INN) binds together six Secondary Switching Areas covering the Tamil Nadu circle, Kerala and Chennai city, while Ericsson-Nortel’s combined INN at Coimbatore networks across four southern States, the Union Territory of Pondicherry and the Chennai city circle.
Metered service
L. Kannan, general manager (CellOne), BSNL Tamil Nadu Circle, said the directory enquiry remained a metered service for the mobile segment, both post-paid and pre-paid.
Mobile subscribers were billed at the rate of local calls for accessing it. Billing anomalies, if any, would be rectified.
“Unfairâ€Â
T. Sadagopan, consumer activist, said billing the mobile segment for using the service was unfair.
A mobile user, he pointed out, was most unlikely to have access to an alternative source of information, so the enquiry had to be treated as an emergency service that was toll-free.
BSNL circular
M. P. Velusamy, chief general manager, Chennai Telephones, cited a circular from BSNL’s headquarters that stated that while landlines could access ‘197’ without any charge, mobile calls would be metered.
He, however, said the service would eventually become toll-free for mobile users.
The process, though, would require tweaking the software.
