'Neither TRAI nor the operators are right on mobile tariff hike'
Telecom watchdog, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has said that mobile tariffs would rise by only 10 paise per minute in urban areas and by 5 paise in rural areas if its spectrum pricing proposal for the upcoming auction of spectrum is accepted by the government.
NOTABLY THE private telecom operators had claimed in past that mobile call rates will go up by 90 paise per minute if the government accepts the proposal. However, leading telecom expert Mahesh Uppal is of view that neither the TRAI nor the operators are right on how much could be the tariff hike if the 2G spectrum pricing recommendations by the regulator are accepted by the government.
The proposal was made during the regime of former TRAI chairman JS Sarma in April, under which the telecom regulator had proposed to fix the reserve price for the upcoming spectrum auction at 18,000 crore rupees for 5 Mhz.
According to the media reports the new TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar, while contradicting the claims made by the private operators, has told P. Chidambaram led empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on telecom spectrum that the service providers profitability will improve even if the tariffs are increased by just 5 paise.
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Brishti
nice article
murli
Mobile companies in India are in a turbulent phase, it seems.....
Anindya Sen
Seems like BSNL is not the only company who is under pressure. The opportunist private players are now feeling the heat of the dig they have dug for themselves.
Shikha Sharma
I think the prices are still on the higher side in India compared to the service quality. We are yet to witness 3G and 4G coming in properly. If the mobile companies are already staggering, how will they manage in future?
Inder Nath
Mobile companies are going through a rough phase. ARPU have touched rock bottom. In many areas the companies are operating at a loss. Hence they can't help but to increase the price.
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