The Hindu Business Line : TRAI asks operators to submit call traffic data

IN order to review the extent of the access deficit charge (ADC) levied on various calls, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has asked all operators to submit the call traffic data.

The review could lead to a relatively lower total ADC and/or to lower ADC component on various calls. A lower ADC on a per call basis is likely to translate into lower tariffs.

However, the extent of ADC reduction will depend on the extent to which total minutes of usage have increased since February 1, apart from other factors. The revised Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC) regime was implemented since February 1.

The telecom regulator had calculated and levied the earlier ADC component on most phone calls on a per minute basis. The calculation was done considering the fact that there exists a certain level of total minutes of usage. The total ADC amount was spread across various types of calls (cell-to-cell, cell-to-fixed, et al, in various distance segments) taking into account the average weight of each type of call in the total traffic. Thus, higher the total minutes of usage, the lower is the ADC likely to be on each call.

The regulator has also sought to know from the telecom operators how much have been actually paid out by them as ADC to BSNL and how much have been retained by their own networks, since the new IUC regime was implemented.

The private operators have been against the payment of ADC since they feel they end up "funding BSNL" through ADC payouts.

While implementing the revised interconnect usage charges (IUC) regime, TRAI had calculated the total ADC at Rs 5,340 crore. Substantial part of this ADC funding was to be generated from within the BSNL network.

With the ever increasing growth in the number of wireless subscribers and minutes of usage and the slower growth in fixed lines, the ADC load on various services was likely to converge and come down in subsequent reviews, the regulator had said.

IUC is the charge paid by one operator to other(s) for using their network for carriage or termination of calls. It is the sum total of ADC, carriage and termination charges. ADC is the loss borne by fixed line providers for providing local phone call services at below-cost tariffs.

According to a source, some of the call traffic data that has come to TRAI is being verified at present. It will take about a month for data verification. Whatever little call traffic data have been submitted to TRAI indicates reduced minutes of usage (MoU) in the post-February scenario, which was when ADC was implemented.

According to the traffic data reported by one of the leading cellular operators, there were no international calls made by any of its subscribers during an entire month in one of its large circles. This suggests operators could be playing down reporting data since that would entail paying out that much of ADC.

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