With the interconnect usage charges (IUC) regime for domestic voice calls coming to an end, Reliance Jio on Thursday said that all calls from its network to other networks anywhere in India will be free from January 1, 2021. As per the telecom regulator's directions, 'Bill and Keep' regime is being implemented in the country from January 1, 2021, thereby ending IUC charges for all domestic voice calls, it said in a statement.
Trai's move is seen as a relief for the debt ridden sector and the industry body COAI expects that continuing with six paise mobile call termination charge will not have any impact on consumers as operators have already absorbed this charge in their recently increased mobile call and data rates.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Friday postponed implementation of revised interconnect usage charges (IUC) regime by another fortnight to January 1, following demands from the industry for more time for implementing the regime.
Telecom service providers have got 15 days more to finalise their tariffs under the revised IUC regime as Trai on Tuesday postponed its implementation in view of some of the operators seeking clarification on various issues.
TRAI on Tuesday met key telecom operators including the Tatas, Reliance, and Shyam Telecom, besides BSNL and MTNL, to work out an interim arrangement regarding the interconnection usage charge till its review process was over.
The expert commitee formed by telecom regulator Trai to look into the technical aspects for implementing interconnect user charge regime, is believed to have submitted its report to the regulator.
The prevailing telecom tariffs are likely to undergo a change with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Wednesday announcing its much-awaited revised interconnect charges for the sector.
The telecom regulatory authority released on Thursday a consultation paper on the IUC regime covering key issues like telecom tariffs and Calling Party Pays regime.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will announce the Interconnection Usage Charges as applicable to operators on August one.
Telecom operators on Saturday agreed to implement the new interconnect usage charge (IUC) regime as scheduled from May 1.\n\n\n\n
Basic telecom operators on Saturday welcomed Trai's decision to review Inter-connect Usage Charge regime announced in January this year and hoped that calling-party-pays regime would be reversed.
Interconnect user charge, which was the bone of contention between cellular and wireless in local loop players, would now be implemented with effect from May 1 instead of April 1
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will issue a fresh order on the Interconnect User Charge regime in July, replacing the existing order that came into effect from May, its chairman Pradeep Baijal said on Monday.
State-owned BSNL would be the biggest gainer followed by MTNL if the government changes the inter-connect usage charges, based on TRAI's consultation paper, according to a recent report by equity research firm J M Morgan Stanley.
The telecom regulator announced on Saturday a review of the Inter-connect User Charge regime, while permitting operators to implement tariff packages after a "self-check".
Jio to charge users 6 paisa/min for voice calls made to rival phone networks. However, these charges are not applicable on calls made by Jio users to other Jio phones and to landline phones and calls made using WhatsApp, FaceTime and other such platforms.
Airtel CEO said, the 5G ecosystem is yet to develop in India and the prices are very high. Telecom companies including Vodafone Idea (VI) and Reliance Jio have also said that the current prices are exorbitant.
The Apex court had earlier given Trai four months time on February 4 for coming up with recommendation on telecom interconnection charges which expired on June 4.
Big three telecom companies term Jio's free voice calls predatory pricing
COAI sid the huge volume of traffic from RJio will pull down the weighted average voice realisation for other operators from 30-40 paise to 22-25 paise per minute or lower
While Airtel's India wireless operational performance was one of its worst in recent times, Jio surprised the Street by reporting a higher expected operating and net profit.
TRAI removed network interconnection charges.
The DoT estimates that it will receive Rs 29,524 cr in revenue from the telecom industry in FY18, which is 38% less than the Budget revenue target of Rs 47,300 cr for FY18
Telecom tribunal on Monday fixed April 2 as the date for hearing of petitions by Association of Basic Telecom Operators, Cellular Operators Association of India, Data Access and Bharti Telesonic against telecom regulator's IUC regime.
Limited visibility around tariff hike and lack of clarity on new funding could make Vodafone Idea "more dependent" on any form of government relief for improvement of its fundamentals, BofA Securities has said in its latest report. The top brass of cash-strapped telco Vodafone Idea had last week said 'floor price' remains the "best and most preferred" fix for industry's woes arising from tariff-related issues. The company, whose fundraising plans have been significantly delayed, had further said it is in active talks with potential investors, and emphasised that there is no reason to start working on an alternate 'Plan B'.
Once launched, RJio services will cover over 18,000 towns and over 200,000 villages across all the 22 service areas of the country
Telecom watchdog Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Wednesday said that the inter-connect usage charge regime would come into effect from May 1, with free incoming calls for all cellular subscribers.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is likely to announce on Wednesday the revised interconnect usage charges (IUC) regime for the sector.
The Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd has announced new outgoing rates under IUC regime for its pre-paid mobile card Trump, revising the outgoing charges for calls to landline phones to Rs 2.70 per minute.
Interconnect user charges are paid by one telecom service provider to another for enabling calls from one network to the other. The present interconnect charge of 30 paise per incoming minute was fixed in 2003. The price was considered high even then. Now, with equipment prices falling, a revision was called for, said industry analysts.
The interconnection charge has been reduced.
Cellular operators have accused Reliance Infocomm of offering predatory prices in Chennai and rest of Tamil Nadu, and sought immediate intervention of the telecom regulator.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Tuesday extended the deadline to June 30 for service providers for filing their revenue sharing agreements, which have to conform to Interconnection Usage Charges regulation.\n\n
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