Regulator to review telecom interconnect charges this week

Telecom regulator TRAI is likely to review this week interconnect charges, which one telecom operator pays to another for completing calls and SMSes.

In the previous review, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has reduced interconnect charges, leading to reduction in tariffs.

‘TRAI has plans to start process to review IUC (inter usage connection) charges this week,’ an official source said.

This would be second IUC review by TRAI after the one in 2009. The regulation was framed in 2003.

At present, TRAI had fixed a mobile call termination charge at 20 paise per minute for all local and national long-distance charges. This charge earlier varied between 15 to 50 paise depending on the distance.

This means that a telecom company now pays 20 paise per minute charge to the other company on whose network call has been made. The regulator raised the MTC (mobile termination charge) for incoming international calls to 40 paise per minute from 30 paise, while putting a ceiling on carriage fee of 65 paise per minute for domestic long-distance calls. TRAI had started a consultation process to review IUC in 2011 but the same was challenged by telecom operators.