Hutchison Essar has submitted videos to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India that apparently show Tata Teleservices and Reliance Infocomm offering limited mobility services beyond the permissible limits of a local call area.

This has added another twist to the tussle between cellular and fixed line telecom service providers.

Hutchison has submitted two video compact discs, with footage taken in Gurgaon, Noida, Ghaziabad and Sonepat between May 8 and 10.

The discs show Delhi-based subscribers of Tata and Reliance using limited mobility services that were in violation of licence conditions.

A Reliance spokesman said the company had not violated any norms, and if there were other issues, they would be sorted out with TRAI.

A Tata spokesman said the company had submitted its response to TRAI when the issue had been raised earlier.

The company contends that the spectrum spilled over to the outskirts of Delhi because the initial subscriber base was small, and the problem will be sorted out once the network begins to operate at full capacity. TRAI had indicated that the explanation was satisfactory, the spokesman added.

However, in a letter accompanying the videos, Hutchison has countered Tata Teleservices, saying the spillage was taking place even though subscription had grown in certain areas.

"It is reiterated that the apparent cause is that (Tata Teleservices) has put up a number of high-rise towers on the periphery of Delhi with antennas with strong signals directed towards adjacent cities and towns in the Capital," the letter said.

It added that both Reliance and Tata Teleservices were illegally providing services simultaneously in at least five short-distance charging areas in the circles of Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh (West).

Hutchison has pointed out that Reliance connections registered in Delhi are offering seamless roaming even when subscribers cross into one short-distance charging area from another.

"It is using illegal and innovative means to allow handsets and numbers registered in the Delhi area to remain authenticated and be used in Gurgaon, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad. Moreover, Reliance's customer care services are accessible from such a connection in any part of India," the letter said.