The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is expected to come out with its final views after consultations on regulatory norms to assess mobile tariffs, including predatory pricing, promotional offers and market dominance, within a month.

“We will analyse the views received at the open house as well as the written comments and finalise our views in the next 30 days,” RS Sharma, Chairman, TRAI, said, adding that TRAI’s views may come as an order or a regulation.

The issues are being debated as part of TRAI’s ongoing consultation on ‘Regulatory Principles of Tariff Assessment’, which has been triggered by the ongoing tariff war between newcomer Reliance Jio and other operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular. “The idea is to look at the current dispensation with regard to (aspects like) transparency, non-discrimination and predatory pricing...the definition of a promotional offer...and to see whether or not there is a need to change it,” the TRAI chairman said.

The consultation on interconnect usage charges (IUC), which governs the pay-outs and settlements between two operators, is ‘mutually exclusive’ from the one on rules of tariff assessment, he said.

The consultation paper on the norms for tariff assessment, released in February by TRAI, had said that it aims to bring greater clarity in the interpretation of various regulatory principles set out in the Telecom Tariff Order, in tune with global practices.

The issues being debated include new measures that need to be prescribed to ensure transparency in the tariff offers of telecom operators, and strengthening the definition relating to ‘non-discrimination’.

The regulator has sought views on which tariff offers should qualify as ‘promotional offers’ and the need to limit the number of promotional offers that can be launched by an operator in a year — one after another or concurrently.

It also seeks suggestions on definition and criteria for ‘dominance’ in relevant telecom markets.

Key issues

Issues, such as predatory pricing, market dominance and extension of promotional offers, had sparked a public spat between Jio and other three players — Airtel, Vodafone and Idea.

The three operators, which have posted one of the weakest numbers in their fourth quarter results recently, have alleged that ‘sustained predatory pricing’ by the new entrant had led to the drop in revenue and profitability and hit the key financial metrics of the industry.

Additionally, the telecom tribunal is hearing a plea by incumbent operators challenging the regulator’s decision that allowed Jio to continue free promotional offer beyond the stipulated 90 days.

Meanwhile, TRAI will also review the methods and processes that should be applied to assess predatory pricing by a service provider in a relevant market.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW