If you had been expecting your telecom operator to lower call tariffs then you might have to wait for longer for this to happen. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has said the current mobile tariffs were ‘competitive’ and it would continue with the existing tariffs for some time.
“The mobile tariffs are competitive. We could not find that tariffs have been in any objectionable territory,” Rajeev Agarwal, secretary, the TRAIi is quoted as saying.
TRAI’s comments on the prevailing call tariffs come in the wake of Bharti Airtel and other telecom operators’ recent hike in 2G data tariffs, a move believed to help them cover costs and improve margins. The regulator had stakeholders’ views on the need to review the prevailing tariffs. The regulator had also asked for views on having a tariff framework for data services.
The regulator also took up the issue of deactivation of inactive mobile connections, saying the recommendations for the same should be finalised by March. The telecom operators have been disconnecting connections on grounds of non usage. The regulator last month sought views from all operators and stakeholders on the issue.
The TRAI noted the arbitrary disconnections were hurting consumers who hadn’t used their connection for some time but wanted to get back and found the disconnected service. In its consultation paper, the regulator revealed around 200 million SIMs had been inactive for over a certain period of time and the total balance on that account is Rs. 128.9 crore.
The regulator also hinted at stricter norms for activations of Value Added Services (VAS) such as caller tunes, cricket updates and others. According to Rajiv Agarwal, the telcos will have to have mandatory consent of a subscriber via e-mail, SMS, fax or in writing before activations of such services. The new norms are set to be implemented from February 2.
Source: DNA India