Policy & Regulation
Manoj Gairola, New Delhi | 22 Feb 2017The government will apprise the telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) of the ‘’alarming decline’’ in government revenue due to its recent tariff orders. It will also inform the regulator that its recent orders will have overall negative impact on the growth of the industry.
This was decided in a meeting of the full Telecom Commission, the highest decision making body in the telecom sector, held at Sanchar Bhawan today.
Reliance Jio is offering voice and data free since September 5. This forced its competitors to reduce tariff and overall revenue of the industry declined. Telcos pay a percentage of revenue as Spectrum Usage charge to the government. Consequently, the government revenue has also declined.
Though Telecom Commission hasn’t named any company, it is clear that it is indicating towards TRAI approval of Jio plans.
The Commission has also noted that the overall debt of the industry is up to Rs 5 lakh crore. If Telcos’ revenue decline sharply, it will be difficult for Telcos to pay Spectrum charges and instalments.
It is mandate of the TRAI to ensure overall health and growth of the industry.
Comment
It was obvious. TRAI has been favouring Reliance Jio for a long time. The government has waken up after five months!
Posted By :- Mahendra SharmaI fail to understand why the government should be worried if consumers are benefited. In a free market, competition decides tariff. Let market forces decide tariff. Government should keep away from regulatory work.
Posted By :- N. MohanIf this favourism continues for another few months, we might witness the same downfall of Indian telecom that happened after the 2G Scam.
Posted By :- Sanjeev DixitPeople have big expectations from this government. The regulatory should not follow the footsteps of the earlier government.
Posted By :- Mahesh SenguptaBy favouring one operator this Government has initiated the downfall of telecom sector. Government revenue declined, operators are forced to reduced tariff, QoS is at stake(customer suffering), even big operators are redefinng their business plan by merging which would result in thousands of people go job less.......who is gaining by killing all ????
Posted By :- R K Sharma