(Economic Times via NewsEdge) The proposal by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to slash roaming charges is facing stiff opposition from all operators and their industry associations, including the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and Association of Unified Service Providers of India (AUSPI).
According to the industry groups, it's market forces, and not the regulator, who should determine roaming tariffs.
All telecom companies, including BSNL, have also demanded that they should be allowed to continue with the current system, where outgoing SMS attract a higher tariff.
The opposition from telcos assumes significance as Trai is slated to consult all stakeholders on reducing roaming tariffs this week.
The regulator believes that despite intense competition in voice telephony in mobile services, competition does not appear to be sufficient in the roaming services market even now.
The Trai also said there are justifiable grounds for a review of the tariff structure applicable for roaming services as determined in 2002.
However, Bharti Airtel in its communication to Trai has warned that the move to set a ceiling for national roaming charges could lead to an increase in the overall tariffs:
Even the Tatas in their letter to Trai has said that the fixation of tariffs including roaming tariffs should be left to the market forces.
COAI has pointed out that since the overall tariff for mobile services in India is the lowest as basic voice telephony services is often provided at below cost tariffs, revenues from VAS are an important source for recovering costs. The operators said that the cost of roaming calls is higher because they cross subsidize voice telephony.
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