Jio slams regulator’s move to review IUC
TRAI’S MOVE FORCED JIO TO LEVY A 6 PAISA PER MINUTE CHARGE ON ITS USERS LAST WEEK, EFFECTIVELY ENDING
ITS FREE CALL REGIME
NEW DELHI: Stung by sudden change in stand of the telecom regulator on charges for terminating phone calls, billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio has slammed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for “retrograde” step to continue “windfall” gains for old operators such as Airtel, saying it was punishing the efficient telecom operators and harming consumer interest.
Trai’s move to reopen the deadline for ending charges for terminating calls on rival networks beyond January 2020 had forced Jio to levy a 6 paisa per minute charge on its users last week, effectively ending its free call regime for life.
The “unwarranted exercise” which is an “act of utter haste” and inconsistent with Trai’s past approach and decision, does not even deal with the issue of whether termination charge from January 1, 2020 should be 6 paisa or less, but merely with the question of deferment of the deadline keeping the termination charge intact at 6 paise per min “which would be wholly irrational”, Jio said in a 14-page letter to Trai.
Jio alleged that any deferment of sunset clause for inter-operator termination charges will end up rewarding “designed defaulters” or telcos who have deliberately stayed away from new and efficient technologies.
Jio said the latest consultation paper does not disclose any imminent need for the proposed review and reflects a premeditated mind. Jio has further charged that consultation paper by Trai relies on “incorrect data” to draw its conclusions. Jio said Trai’s discussion paper is incomplete, and vitiated with “arbitrariness” and “non-application of mind”.
“At a time when the situation is ideal to implement the Bill and Keep regime (meaning zero termination charge) from January 1, 2020, this retrograde step manifested in the form of the present Consultation Paper is neither warranted nor sustainable...,” Jio said.
Typically, a telecom operator pays for completing calls made by its subscribers to a rival network. This is done by paying the rival network an interconnect usage charge (IUC), which currently is 6 paise per minute.
Trai had in 2017 proposed to eliminate IUC from January 2020, but is now reviewing the timeline. Jio recently cited regulatory uncertainty and announced it will charge customers 6 paise per minute for voice calls made to rival phone networks.
“As a sequence of these misconceived actions, pro-consumer operators like RJIL (Reliance Jio), who have adopted the latest technologies are now required to revisit their tariffs and charge customers for voice services and such a step will be against consumer/public interest,” Jio said.