Comments
Broadband India Forum (BIF) has backed Reliance Jio's stand on doing away with the interconnect usage charges from January 2020.
" The TRAI had decided that the applicable date for implementation of Zero IUC Rates would be January 1, 2020. To renege on that decision now, will create a sense of regulatory uncertainty and shall adversely impact India’s image as regards future investment potential in the sector,"BIF said in a statement.
Also read: Reliance Jio attacks TRAI’s IUC review, says move harms user interest
Reliance Jio is the only operator which is asking for zero IUC changes while incumbent players are asking for an increase in the rates from 6 paise now to 14 paise. IUC charges are paid by the operator on whose network the call originates to the operator on whose network the call terminates.
BIF said that continuing to incentivize/subsidize operators in the form of IUC for managing the significantly less efficient 2G voice networks will not only be detrimental to consumers, but also adversely impact the growth of all digital players, startups, OTTs, Application developers, etc. who need high speed 4G broadband connectivity to survive and grow - an aspect important for the economy and the nation.
TV Ramachandran, President, Broadband India Forum, shared, “One may note that post lowering of the IUC to 6 paise/minute by TRAI in 2017 there has been a great improvement in affordability with subscriber’s average outgo per minute dropping from 23 paise per minute in Sep’2017 to 13 paise per minute in Mar’2019. This has clearly resulted from the half way movement to Zero IUC."
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.