TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) on Monday announced slashing of mobile termination charges to 14 paisa per minute from 20 paisa per minute for calls originating from wireless networks.
It is not clear whether the Indian telecom operators such as Reliance Communications, Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular, Vodafone, Tata Docomo, etc. would lower tariffs to accommodate the 30 percent cut in interconnection usage charges.
COAI director general Rajan Mathews indicated that GSM telecom operators will pass the benefit to customers. COAI represents Idea Cellular, Vodafone, Airtel, etc.
TRAI also said fixed termination charges and mobile termination charges will be zero for wireline to wireless calls.
BSNL CMD Anupam Shrivastava said the telecom operator with 1.7 crore fixed-line subscribers will slash its wireline rates from April. Uninor, a part of Telenor, is ready to pass on the benefit to consumers.
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These decisions will be part of the Telecommunication Interconnection Usage Charges (eleventh amendment) regulations, 2015.
This means mobile termination charges will be nil for calls originating from wireline network and fixed termination charges will be nil for calls originating from either from wireline or wireless networks. The telecom industry feels that the decision will be a big boost to BSNL and MTNL and their wireline business.
“To promote investment in, and adoption of, wireline networks, so that they may become an effective vehicle for the delivery of high-speed Internet in the country, the Authority has decided to prescribe fixed termination charges as well as mobile termination charge for wireline to wireless calls as zero,” said TRAI in the new IUC rule issued on Monday.
On the other hand, TRAI has increased termination charges for international calls to 53 paisa per minute from 40 paisa per minute.
“The Authority is of the opinion that in case the mobile termination charges is set to zero for wireline to wireless calls, wireline access providers would be able to provide innovative tariff packages (e.g. Flat rental plans with unlimited or a significantly large number of outgoing calls),” said TRAI.
In case the fixed termination charges for calls originating from wireless networks and terminating on wireline networks is set to zero, this would propel wireless access providers to offer cheaper tariffs for wireless-to-wireline calls, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
Responding to the latest directive from TRAI, Arvind Bali, CEO and director of Videocon Telecom, said: “We welcome the Regulation to the extent that it reflects part of our aspiration. Our stand always has been Bill & Keep. The TRAI regulation has prescribed this principle for calls between wired and wireless networks but not on wireless to wireless networks.”
“Keeping a termination charge of 14 paisa for calls between wireless networks is not equitable and to some extent takes away the impact of its forward look significantly,” Bali added.
