Telcos have red-flagged attempts by ‘some participants’ to push for the scrapping of an inter-network charge by citing an affidavit filed by the regulator in the Supreme Court six years ago.
The Cellular Operators Association of India said in a letter to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India that facts were being distorted while demanding the removal of the interconnect usage charge (IUC) – a contentious issue that the regulator is deliberating. The association did not mention the names of any companies or people.
The argument by those in favour of scrapping the charge that Trai should comply with its affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court “is an attempt to distort facts to mislead and create a false impression among the public at large,” the lobby group, which represents all telcos, told the regulator in a letter dated July 22, urging it to be mindful of the developments.
The COAI said its views do not include those of Reliance Jio and Aircel, which backed the zero-payment regime in their submissions to the regulator, privately and during an open forum last week. IUC is a charge paid by the operator of the network from where a call originates to the telco where it terminates.
COAI cited Trai’s affidavit to say that symmetry of call traffic was a pre-condition to end the IUC regime. It added that Trai had admitted, both in 2011 and in 2015, to the absence of traffic symmetry in the industry. The regulator had shown termination charges under various methods in the affidavit of 2011. Trai has said it would soon give its recommendations on IUC after having issued the consultation paper almost a year ago.
By Baishakhi Dutta
