Trai puts rider ahead cellcos' tariff plans

As if alarmed by the spate of tariff cuts being offered by telecom players, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has asked leading companies including Bharti, IDEA and Hutch to hold on till it evaluated their tariff packages relating to slashed STD, ISD and air-time charges.

In separate letters shot out to different cellular companies earlier this week, the telecom regulator also asked that they intimate their tariff plans at least five days ahead of implementation, which falls from May 1, 2003.

The purpose of the entire exercise by Trai

was to ascertain if the lower tariff was sustainable under the new dispensation where operators have to incorporate new interconnect user charges, which were announced way back in January.

In a separate letter to Reliance and BSNL, the regulator has asked them to submit revised tariff packages taking into account the interconnet user charge regime, sources said.

Earlier, the operators were allowed to intimate the regulator within seven days of the implementation of any new tariff packages, decided by them as part of tariff forebearance plans.