Bharti Group said on Monday that the cellular industry may approach the prime minister to resolve the interconnection dispute with WLL limited mobility operators.

The company has also written to the telecom regulator  on Monday accusing it of "double standards" while ordering cell firms to interconnect with WLL operators.

Sunil Mittal, chairman and managing director, Bharti Group said cell firms would continue to fight for a level playing field.

"Time has come to agitate aggressively. We may even approach the prime minister for intervention."

"We have been writing to Trai for the last 15-16 months especially about the interconnection issues but no solution has been found. Trai's two letters to one operator (Bharti) in a single day -- one saying resolve the interconnection issue with other operators and second saying comply with the directive of interconnection within three days -- is nothing but double standards of the telecom regulator," Mittal said while addressing a select media briefing.

Mittal however said that cell firms will not be able to pull the plug off Mahanagar Telephone Nigam and Bharat Sanchar Nigam as the cell operators are dependent on the public sector undertakings.

Meanwhile cellular operators have called for a press conference on Tuesday to garner media support against the Trai order, which asked cell operators to offer interconnect with WLL operators.

Cell firms, however, have decided to defy the Trai order on grounds that the interconnect terms are "unfairly" benefiting WLL operators. 

The dispute between cell firms and WLL operators began after the former demanded access charges for incoming calls.

When a cell user calls a WLL limited mobility user, they have to pay Rs 1.20 per three minute over and above the airtime tariffs but when a WLL user calls a cell users he doesn't pay anything.

"Why should we bear the cost of terminating calls from WLL operators. Let them pay for it," Mittal said.

Cellular operators are also undertaking a media campaign to create awareness amongst the consumers.