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Jio's no more free, Airtel & Vodafone-Idea to make a call
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SME Times News Bureau | 10 Oct, 2019
With Reliance Jio announcing 6 paise per minute charge for voice calls
to rival networks, Vodafone Idea on Wednesday termed the announcement
"an action of undue haste" and Airtel termed the Mukesh Ambani-owned
company's move a forced tactics to reduce interconnection charges.
"The
announcement by one of the telecom service providers today to charge
for calls made to other service providers to cover the termination
charge of IUC is not only an action of undue haste, but it also doesn't
bring out the fact that interconnect is a settlement between operators
and not a consumer pricing matter.
"In our view, its TRAI's call
for a consultation on IUC keeping in mind the continuing asymmetry in
traffic and in line with its earlier stated position on the matter",
Vodafone Idea said in a statement.
Reliance Jio's announcement follows its recent unilateral action of reducing ringing time.
Stating
that Vodafone Idea operates on the singular principle of pro-consumer
and pro-choice, it said, "Our offerings are transparent, affordable and
cater to a cross section of society and consumers with varying
consumption needs via multiple technologies 2G, 3G and 4G. Even today
over 50 per cent Indian consumers use 2G and feature phones and we
service them in remote parts of the country even when it's unprofitable
for us to do so."
Airtel said: "One of our competitors has
imposed a rate of 6 paise for all off-net calls made to other operators
to cover the termination charge of IUC. They have gone on to suggest
that TRAI has re-opened this issue."
On account of taking a hit
of Rs 13,500 crore due to network connection charges, or interconnet
usage charges (IUC), Reliance Jio on Wednesday said it would charge
customers 6 paise per minute for voice calls made to rival networks till
IUC charges were eliminated.
It's the first time that Jio users will pay for voice calls, free since September 2016.
Telecom
Regulatory Authority of India Chairman R.S. Sharma didn't respond to
calls for response to Jio's contention that it was forced to take the
step due to regulatory uncertainty created by TRAI. The TRAI floated a
consultation paper to review whether the IUC regime timeline needs to be
extended.
The Sunil Mittal-owned company said: "On September 19,
2017, when TRAI reduced the IUC from 14 paise to 6 paise and proposed a
move towards 'bill and keep' (zero IUC) with effect from January 1,
2020, it had specifically mentioned that the TRAI shall keep a close
watch on developments in the sector, particularly with respect to the
adoption of new technologies and their impact on termination cost. The
TRAI, if deems it necessary may revisit the scheme of termination charge
applicable on wireless-to-wireless calls after one year from the
implementation of the regulation".
Last month, TRAI weighed the
option of deferring date for scrapping IUC. It floated a fresh
consultation paper to see if there is a need to revise the applicable
date for scrapping IUC, given the continuing imbalance in inter-operator
traffic. The paper also seeks to discuss what parameters should be
looked at to decide on an alternate date, if any.
When TRAI decided to scrap IUC, Airtel, Vodafone and Idea had resisted the change, while Jio was in favour.
The
possible change of timeline for introducing zero IUC, Jio said had led
to the uncertainty of IUC phase-out deadline and it can't continue to
bear Rs 13,500 crore losses on account of IUC by offering free voice
calls to rivals' network from its network.
"The consultation
paper has created regulatory uncertainty and therefore Jio has been
compelled, most reluctantly and unavoidably, to recover this regulatory
charge of 6 paise per minute for all off-net mobile voice calls so long
as IUC charges exist," the Jio statement said.
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