Telecom regulator Trai has reduced inter-connection charges
Representational image
New Delhi: In an attempt to make landline telephones popular in country, telecom regulator Trai has reduced inter-connection charges that a landline user has to pay to call on mobile or landline to zero from 20 paise. This will make it cheaper to make calls from landline phones to mobile phones and to landline from mobile phones.
Trai has also reduced interconnection usage charges (IUC) on calls made between mobile phones by about 30 per cent to 14 paise per call from 20 paise earlier. This will also reduce mobile call rates. It will mainly help new operators as most of their calls is made on the network of older players who have more subscribers.
However, calling to India from abroad will become costlier. Trai raised termination charge for international incoming calls to 53 paise per minute from existing 40 paise per minute. This has been done as some international operators used to ask for much higher charges to make call to their countries.
Trai said that as the adoption of wireline phones for making and receiving calls improves landline may be able to see a revival across households. “It becomes clear that unless subscribers start looking at wireline access services as an affordable solution for both voice telephony and broadband services and, in turn, telecom service providers start gaining traction from the segment, the mere capability to provide high-speed data services will not be able to save the wireline networks in the country,” said Trai.
Landline connections in the country have been declining since the time mobile incoming calls were made free.
( Source : dc correspondent )
Next Story
