In a bid to boost fixed line phone connections in the country, telecom regulator TRAI has cut down interconnect usage charge (IUC) by more than half to 6 paise from existing 14 paise charge - a move that is likely to lead to reduction in tariffs.
Trai -- which held an intensive consultation with the industry before finalising the charge -- said there will be no interconnect rate from January 1, 2020.
Mobile companies currently charge 14 paise a minute for allowing a domestic call from a rival operator to terminate on their network. This charge, called Interconnection Usage Charge or IUC, will be 6 paise per minute from October 1, 2017, Trai told PTI.
The regulator further said that for other types of calls -- landline-to-mobile, landline-to-landline -- the termination charges will continue to remain zero.
According to a PTI report, this decision is going to benefit only the newcomer in the telecommunication operating world like Reliance Jio.
Terming the move as "disastrous", COAI Director-General Rajan Mathews said there are preliminary indications that most of its members will go to court on the issue.
India's second largest operator Vodafone also expressed dismay at the telecom regulator's decision and termed the move as a "retrograde" measure.
The established operators such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone have contended that telecom infrastructure in rural areas largely depends on revenue from incoming calls, and lowering or removal of such charge will hamper services.
(With PTI Inputs)
