INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: The telecom regulator has deferred by a year implementation of the zero-interconnect usage charges (IUC) regime that was slated
Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said in a release Tuesday.
ET had first reported about the deferment on its online platforms earlier
(bill and keep) or zero-termination charge regime -- as they are net interconnect revenue earners
Reliance Jio Infocomm, which is a net payer, had opposed any deferral.
Back in September, Trai had issued a discussion paper, seeking views
on deferring the implementation of the BAK (bill and keep) or zero-termination charge regime, on grounds that consumers were yet to migrate
period, and where entry of new service providers in the short run is difficult, maintaining effective competition amongst service providers
But under the proposed BAK system, which was set to take effect from January, the call-originating telco, which also bills the user, would
keep the money, thus making it a zero-IUC regime
Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the telecom lobby body representing Bharti Airtel,
Vodafone Idea will still receive some IUC payments
positive for net IUC earners Airtel and Voda Idea, given that traffic symmetry is fast changing, especially as Jio gains more
had slashed the charge by 57% to 6 paise a minute in October 2017, and ordered its end from January 2020
That decision, which Trai had said it may review after a year depending on adoption of new technologies and its impact on termination costs,
was then backed by Reliance Jio
rivals Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular (Vodafone and Idea have subsequently merged)
The older operators had then strongly protested, since they faced a sharp revenue erosion, and appealed against the regulator's order in
meaningful to start such an exhaustive and complex exercise for the limited remaining period before the (scheduled) implementation of BAK