"The scheme is only about deferment of a payment. Instead of charging Rs 3,000 at the time of registration, MTNL will collect the amount at the time of payment of the first bill", sources said. TRAI had asked MTNL to keep its plan to provide new telephones with an internet connection in abeyance till a final decision is taken.

Normally the first bill comes within one to three months depending upon the billing cycle. MTNL has worked out a plan to serve the first bill within a fortnight of installation of a telephone connection with fixed component of security deposit and installation charges totalling Rs 3,080.

When contacted, chief general manager of MTNL (Delhi) A K Bhatnagar said that MTNL was meeting TRAI officials on July 7 to sort out the matter butrefused to comment on TRAI's move.

Both bills with and without registration charges are similar except for the difference of Rs 3000, sources said adding that a bill with registration charges paid in advance were adjusted in the first bill while in the second case, the first bill debits Rs 3000 from the subscribers bill. MTNL has sought to introduce this scheme to do away with the concept of waiting time for new telephone connection.

MTNL had sent the note to TRAI detailing the proposed bundling of internet and new telephone connection from July 1, sources said. TRAI, however, objected to MTNL's scheme seeking some clarifications on July 1 after the company advertised for the same in newspapers.

In any case, sources said MTNL was not giving any undue benefits to subscribers and any objection from TRAI was not justified. On the issue of wireless in local loop (WLL) service with limited mobility on fixed line telephone, sources said that it was just an upgradation of telecom system to internationalstandards.

WLL is a technology which has been adopted by private basic operators in Madhya Pradesh and other places and should not be confused with that of cellular telephony, sources said.

If the WLL-based telephone systems can serve the purpose of cellular mobile telephony perhaps the investment in the latter is a wasteful expenditure, they added.