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<ul><li>Reliance Jio is asking TRAI to either reduce or remove Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC). </li><li>TRAI had initially planned to remove IUC charges from January 1, 2020 under the Bill and Keep (BAK) regime. </li><li>Airtel and Vodafone Idea were against the move, citing huge costs involved in allowing incoming calls from the Jio network.</li></ul> Reliance Jio approached the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to either reduce or remove Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC). Currently, IUC is charged at 6 paise per minute by the operator on whose network the calls terminate. In October, Reliance Jio announced that it will start charging 6 paise per minute for calls that are made to other networks. This change was made on packs which promised complete free calling earlier. Jio-to-Jio calls however continued to remain free. At the time, Jio noted that this charge would be levied until TRAI removes IUC charges. TRAI had initially planned to remove IUC charges from January 1, 2020 under the Bill and Keep (BAK) regime. However, incumbent operators Airtel and Vodafone Idea were against the move, citing huge costs involved in allowing incoming calls from the Jio network. Last week, TRAI held an open discussion on “Review of Interconnection Usage Charges”. Jio’s representative at the discussion held that since voice calling symmetry has been achieved between Jio and the incumbent operators, there was no need to levy IUC charges anymore. The company <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/jio-urges-trai-for-removal-or-reduction-of-iuc-charges-4645571.html">held</a> that the BAK regime should be implemented as planned from January 1, 2020. The implementation of this regime would bring down IUC charges to zero. Airtel and Vodafone Idea opposed this argument and demanded that IUC charges of 6 paise per minute should be levied for the next three years at least. Reliance Jio alleged that Airtel and Vodafone Idea were diverting their incoming voice call traffic to 2G or 3G networks to inflate their voice call costs. This could hold some merit as we’ve experienced that incoming voice calls on Airtel’s network are routed via 2G, which puts the Jio 4G network on pause temporarily even on a compatible dual 4G VoLTE smartphone. Airtel however denied these allegations. Vodafone Idea, on its part, did not expressly deny this and stated that subscribers were free to port out of their network. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambanis-jio-faces-backlash-for-tariff-increase/articleshow/71573757.cms">Reliance Jio is paying the price for being the ‘second SIM’ of choice</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/reliance-jio-airtel-and-vodafone-idea-may-raise-tariff-soon/articleshow/71757089.cms">Whether you use Jio, Airtel, Vodafone-Idea, get ready to pay more for mobile services— sooner than later</a>

Reliance Jio asks TRAI to either reduce or remove IUC charges

<ul><li>Vodafone-Idea and Airtel have removed all caps on unlimited outgoing calls to other networks, using Jio’s own ‘free’ strategy against it.</li><li>Jio users will still be limited by an average of 1,000 free IUC minutes per month.</li><li>And, the company can’t afford to not charge its customers.</li></ul>Bharti Airtel and Vodafone-Idea customers don’t have to pay for outgoing calls to other networks — but <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/jios-new-recharge-plans-can-be-confusing-heres-how-to-figure-them-out/articleshow/72257183.cms">Jio users aren’t that lucky</a>. Even though tariffs have risen across the board, Jio’s competitors are now using its own strategy against the company by offering free unlimited calling. Once lauded for being ‘free’, Jio’s ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/jios-new-599-all-in-one-subscriptions-offer-the-biggest-bang-for-your-buck/articleshow/72377359.cms">all-in-one</a>’ plans now only come with a limited number of IUC minutes — 1,000 minutes per month on average. Once those minutes run out, customers are charged 6 paise per minute. Initially, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea had capped the number of IUC minutes for their plans as well. But, on Friday, they did a complete 180 — all calls would continue to be free. While it wasn’t the best news for Jio, it’s an indicator that some of the pricing power still lies in the hand of the consumer. 
	<div type="twitter" handle="airtelindia" handlename="airtel India" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/709713764388442112/evLMdiy__normal.jpg" favoritecount="4342" retweetcount="635" status="We heard you! And we are making the change. From tomorrow, enjoy unlimited calling to any network in India with al… https://t.co/P9TQUjlC8k" createdat="1575639683000" id="1202946135460986881"></div>



 
	<div type="twitter" handle="VodafoneIN" handlename="Vodafone" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/922565311248912390/kziFl8x4_normal.jpg" favoritecount="520" retweetcount="64" status="Enjoy free unlimited calls to everyone. More reasons for you to rejoice for being on your favourite network. https://t.co/nqcqK8e00z" createdat="1575654295000" id="1203007426674360321"></div>



 The tables have turned since 2017 when Airtel, Vodafone and Idea were asking the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-telcos-maintain-varied-stands-on-iuc/articleshow/59218993.cms">raise the IUC</a> while Reliance Jio was asking that it be scrapped altogether. "When you go below that cost, that is a very straightforward situation of predatory pricing,” Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/trai-to-investigate-whether-reliance-jios-free-voice-offer-is-predatory-for-other-telcos/articleshow/54626058.cms">ET</a> at the time. What’s changed With Airtel and Vodafone-Idea offering unlimited free calling to other networks, Jio’s claim of offering its users four times the benefits despite a 40% increase in tariffs is undermined. Both Airtel and Jio offer a 56-day plan for ₹399 — but now Airtel’s will be considered cheaper because it doesn’t have any limits on IUC minutes. Despite the backlash, Jio claims that the minutes it’s offering are more than enough to cover the average user. “Entitlement for off-net calls in Jio’s ‘all-in-one’ plans is more than five times of what an average customer uses as per industry data and consequently, an average Jio customer is unlikely to have to ever pay for off-net calls,” said the company. Here’s why Jio has to charge its customers The telecom department’s interconnect usage charge (IUC) means that a fee is owed by the network where the call originated to the network where the call was received. In a perfect world, the IUC would even out between the three players. Instead, more than half of the calls in India originate on a Jio network, according to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambanis-jio-faces-backlash-for-tariff-increase/articleshow/71573757.cms">India Ratings</a>. “Net incoming minutes as a proportion of total off-net voice minutes stands at negative 29% for Reliance Jio whereas the same is 9% and 19% for Airtel and Vodafone-Idea respectively,” said the report. Simply put, the number of people calling a Jio number from the Vodafone-Idea or Airtel SIM is significantly lower than the Jio users calling people with other service providers. So even while Vodafone-Idea and Airtel will have to bear some of the cost — they still have more to gain. And, users who have been using Jio numbers as a secondary SIM card, may start shifting back to their primary telecom operator. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/jios-new-recharge-plans-can-be-confusing-heres-how-to-figure-them-out/articleshow/72257183.cms">Jio’s new recharge plans can be confusing — here’s how to figure them out</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/mukesh-ambanis-jio-faces-backlash-for-tariff-increase/articleshow/71573757.cms">Reliance Jio is paying the price for being the ‘second SIM’ of choice</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/reliance-jio-aks-trai-to-either-reduce-or-remove-iuc-charges/articleshow/72107616.cms">Reliance Jio asks TRAI to either reduce or remove IUC charges</a>

Jio will charge you for calls to other networks but Airtel and Vodafone won't⁠— Here's why

<ul><li>Mukesh Ambani’s telecom venture, which was known for its freebies, is now looking to milk its subscribers. </li><li>After recent tariff hikes, the company’s average revenue per user has improved to ₹128. </li><li>Marginal users who were using Jio only for dirt-cheap voice calls are leaving the network, CFO Alok Agarwal said. </li><li>The liability due to Supreme Court’s verdict on unpaid licence fees and spectrum usage charges is just ₹177 crore for Jio. </li><li>Whereas the same liability is so huge for Vodafone-Idea, it is feared to be the death knell for Jio’s rival owned by the Birlas.</li></ul>Reliance Jio made a name for itself with dirt-cheap offerings that debased the entire telecom sector in India. As weaker rivals fell by the wayside, Mukesh Ambani’s telecom venture is all set to reap the benefits. Jio’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambani-reliance-industries-q3-earnings-revenue-profit-and-share-price/articleshow/73331424.cms">revenue increased by</a> 28.2% to ₹16,517 crore ($2.3 billion) compared to the same quarter last year and its margins, too, improved from 18.3% to 22% in the third quarter ending December. The average revenue per user has risen 7% to ₹128 in a year. This is largely <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio-could-increase-tariffs/articleshow/72121399.cms">due to the tariff hikes</a> that the company rolled out in the last quarter. It also started charging Jio users to receive calls from other networks. Unsurprisingly, 22.3 million stopped using Jio in the last three months. However, Jio is not too worried. “As we increased tariff, and started charging for inter-connection, a lot of marginal users who used Jio mostly for voice calls have moved out of the network," CFO Agarwal said. Instead, the company is focusing on milking the high-spending data addicts for more profit. Here’s what gives Jio an upper hand over its users Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio was the last to enter India’s telecom market dominated by Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Airtel and Vodafone-Idea, which is now owned by Kumar Mangalam Birla. Three years after Jio’s debut, it is probably the strongest of the lot. The recent Supreme Court verdict that sprang an unexpected liability for unpaid licence fees and spectrum usage charges hit every player⁠— but the younger the company was, the lesser the impact. That came as a boon for Jio and a bane for Vodafone-Idea, the weakest of the lot. Mukesh Ambani’s telecom venture too had to recognize a liability of ₹177 crore but the much-older Vodafone-Idea, saddled with a lot of older debt, has to cough up ₹53,039 crore. The Supreme Court has<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/airtel-vodafone-plan-a-curative-plea-after-their-agr-review-is-dismissed/articleshow/73317720.cms"> refused to review </a>its order and investors are running for cover. The upside for Jio, as well as its rival Airtel, is that if Vodafone-Idea were to fold under pressure from shrinking business and rising dues, the users will be divided between Jio and Airtel at no additional cost. This led to a sharp 6% rally in the share price of Airtel, and 3% rally in the stock of RIL, which is the parent company for Jio. There is one downside though... In the words of Chairman Ambani, Jio was targeting a total of 500 million customers which it was supposed to achieve this year. The trends of the last two quarters show a slowdown in subscriber addition as tariffs went up. Jio already has 370 million users, and without Vodafone-Idea, the market will be down to a duopoly between Reliance and Airtel. Even if the Mittal and Ambani were to continue their hustle in telecom, Jio may choose to bleed some more because it can afford to. “Jio did increase telecom tariffs but even after the hikes it was lower than that of the incumbents. Interestingly, some of the new tariff plans have effective tariffs which are lower than the prevailing ones at an effective 16% discount to the recent hike,” said a recent report by JP Morgan. Even Ambani has his limitations In the process of driving out competition in telecom, RIL has piled up a debt of over ₹2 lakh crore and Ambani knows that’s a lot. The conglomerate has lined up a plan to monetise some of its assets to repay debt. That includes the<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio-raises-25215-crore-for-its-invits-from-canadian-fund-brookfield/articleshow/70295640.cms"> sale of telecom tower</a>s via an investment trust to Canada-based Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. The announcement was first made in July last year. “Brookfield and affiliates will invest ₹ 25,215 crore in Tower InvIT. At closing of the transaction expected shortly, Tower InvIT will own 100% of the issued and paid up equity share capital of RJIPL,” the company said in the press release. These deals, along with the proposed <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/saudi-aramco-buys-15-billion-stake-reliance-industries-mukesh-ambani-2019-8-1028437515">stake sale in the energy business </a>to Saudi Arabia’s Aramco will give Jio the much-needed cash to dominate the telecom market. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio-could-increase-tariffs/articleshow/72121399.cms"> Reliance Jio and Reliance Retail boost earnings for Mukesh Ambani-owned RIL</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/article/the-real-story-behind-reliance-industries-spectacular-40-bn-bull-run/articleshow/73321847.cms?src=hp_wh">The real story behind Reliance Industries' spectacular $40 billion bull-run</a>

Three-year-old Jio is now making $2 billion in 3 months ⁠— and it is weeding out the low-spenders and making data addicts pay more

<ul><li>Last week, Jio increased its calling tariffs by 6 paise per minute. </li><li>India Ratings says that the industry’s average revenue per user (ARPU) will go up by 15-18% after Jio’s price hike. </li><li>Jio’s data tariffs are 25-30% cheaper than that of Airtel and Voda-Idea. </li><li>Jio is a net payer of IUC charges, whereas Voda-Idea and Airtel are net-receivers of IUC receipts--as calls originate from Jio and land on other networks. </li></ul> It had to happen one day. But Reliance Jio’s move to increase tariffs came sooner than expected. Even as Jio, Vodafone Idea and Airtel are teasing each other over it on social media, and thousands are trolling Mukesh Ambani for ‘breaking his free’ promise---it is good news for the industry. At least that is what India Ratings believes. Jio charging its customers 6 paise per minute on its ‘free’ calling package—can help increase the rising margins of the industry. The sector’s average revenue per user will go up by ₹9, and in general increase by 15-18% according to the rating agency. Like Jio says in its tweet, this amount will be going to Vodafone Idea and Airtel as Jio can no longer get away without paying telecom department’s mandatory inter-connection (IUC) charges. This is the charge paid to a network which is receiving calls, by the network from where a call originates. In an ideal situation, the amount all networks pay each other should balance out—considering their subscriber number is around the same. However, that is not to be. Jio has the most to lose. The offnet minutes of usage is 64% for Jio, while it is at 41% for Voda-Idea and 45% for Airtel. “Also, of the total offnet voice traffic, net incoming minutes as a proportion of total offnet minutes stands at negative 29% for R-Jio whereas the same is 9% and 19% for Airtel and Voda-Idea respectively, implying that network voice traffic imbalance is significantly higher for R-Jio compared with peers. Hence, R-Jio remains a net-payer of IUC expenses, whereas Voda-Idea and Airtel are net-receivers of IUC receipts,” says India Ratings. Basically, calls originate from Jio and land on other networks. Jio users continue to keep other network SIMs It means that more people are using Jio SIMs for its cheap data plans, and also for making the ‘free’ calls it offers. It makes sense as Jio’s data tariffs are 25-30% cheaper than that of Airtel and Voda-Idea. Yet, users have not given up their basic SIMs which belonged to other networks, and continue to exist. These numbers are ‘primary’ phone numbers which are key to their bank accounts and other necessary identifications. And, few seem to believe that cheap tariff party will not continue to exist. All mixed with the ease of owning multiple SIMs have played against Jio. Had subscribers chosen to keep only Jio connections and get rid of others, they would have ported to it. Looks like not many have done that.

Reliance Jio is paying the price for being the ‘second SIM’ of choice

India’s top telcos are demanding a cut in licence fee, spectrum usage charge (SUC) and Universal Service Obligation Fund levy so that they can come out of the financial stress that they are in. However, regarding the issue of interconnect charges (IUC), Indian telecom companies have come to a standstill with little chances of a consensus. While incumbent telcos like <keyword id="6354287" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bharti-Airtel">Bharti Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone India and <keyword id="6354924" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Idea-Cellular">Idea Cellular</keyword> have demanded that IUC be raised, debutant <keyword id="1543410" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Reliance-Jio-Infocomm">Reliance Jio Infocomm</keyword> has asked for it to be scrapped. The IUC is a fee that one telco has to pay to the other telco on whose network a call terminates. Presently, it stands at 14 paise per minute, considered to be around half of an incumbent carrier's cost per call. The reason why <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> wants it scrapped is that it relies on free offers to earn the loyalty of customers ever since it was launched in September last year, and believes that IUC is a subsidy provided to incumbent carriers. If IUC is abolished, Jio would be befitted by reduction in its IUC payout, as it clearly has more outgoing calls to <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword>, Vodafone India and Idea. None of the telcos wish to change their stand regarding the issue, since incumbent telcos have also urged <keyword id="6356988" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="TRAI">TRAI</keyword> to create a floor price for voice and data services, which Jio has opposed saying that it won’t ever charge for voice services for life. If there is a floor price, Jio would have to end its free services, leading to a probability of customers moving back to their original carriers, which Jio wishes to avoid.

IUC becomes bone of contention between incumbent telcos and Jio

Once arch rivals, Vodafone, Bharati <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> and Idea Cellular have now teamed up against <keyword id="2003276" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jio">Jio</keyword> and complained to the government that latter’s predatory pricing has been eating up in their revenues. To make sure, the government pays heed to their outrage, the three telecom operators claimed their incompetence to invest in future technology and create jobs. The top players in the industry had met a government panel, which aims to analyse the losses in the industry. <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> backed Jio has been accused of providing cellular services at ‘too low’ a cost, which is responsible for decline in the revenue generation. According to a <keyword id="6356641" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="times-of-india">Times of India</keyword> report, the worst affected Airtel, which has seen a severe contraction in profitability post the aggressive launch of services by Jio in September last year, said that the return on capital employed (ROCE) had dropped down to "perilously lower levels" and is "highly likely to be negative" if relief is not provided. Airtel said losses to the industry will also restrict the government's ability to earn from the sector. Its earnings will come down by Rs 10,000 crore. "Consolidation/ reduced investments will result in loss of direct/ indirect employment." The companies have sought to increase charge for terminating a call on their networks to be increased from the existing 14 paise per minute. "The IUC rate of 14 paise is lower than actual cost. In order to make this financially viable, it is critical that traffic between operators is symmetrical," Airtel told <keyword id="6371459" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="toi">TOI</keyword>. "IUC needs to be correctly determined to prevent predatory voice-pricing environment. Aggressive tariffs in voice and data have resulted in a scenario of pricing below cost with every operator," Idea told TOI, seeking the fixation of a floor price for voice and data prices. However Jio has refused to the allegations. It believes that lack of investments by them in new technologies and mounting debt are making the other rivals outrageous.

Airtel, Vodafone, Idea blame Jio for revenue losses

Jio's new ₹599 ‘all-in-one’ subscriptions offer the biggest bang for your buck

New Delhi, Jun 24 () Reliance Jio would play a key role in the development of the 5G ecosystem in India based on the market dynamics, Reliance Industries said in its latest annual report. On the issue of floor price for mobile services, the company noted that market dynamics have improved in the recent past as reflected by December tariff hikes by operators. The government has also expressed its intentions of conducting the next round of spectrum auctions during the fiscal year 2020-21, it said. "Jio with its 5G-ready network and extensive fiber assets, would play a key role in the development of the 5G ecosystem in India, based on market dynamics," the annual report stated. In his letter to shareholders, Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani said that there are still millions of 2G phone users, who cannot use internet, highlighting urgent need for India to transition fully from 2G to the 4G era and beyond, and underlining the opportunity Jio has in such transformation. "Over the past two years, JioPhone has successfully transitioned approximately 100 million erstwhile feature phone (2G) users to the 4G network," he said. Ambani noted that Jio's success in building technology specifically for India and its ability to proliferate across the country has attracted global technology leaders – Facebook and Microsoft - to forge partnerships with it. Reliance Jio continues to add subscribers at a rate unprecedented in the telecom world with 387.5 million mobile data subscribers (as of March 31, 2020), Ambani said. Describing Jio as a key catalyst in creating the broadband data market in India, he said it is now the number one mobile telecom operator in the country by both adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and subscribers. Reliance Jio is rolling out its state-of-the-art wireline services across homes and enterprises, he said adding all this will help place a strong foundation for offering platform-based digital services. According to the report, Jio connected about one million homes with JioFiber services until March 2020. Ambani further said that rollout of the digital commerce initiative will open up further growth opportunities for the organised retail business, leveraging the strength of consumer and digital platforms. "Reliance Retail and WhatsApp have entered into a commercial partnership agreement to further accelerate Reliance Retail's Digital Commerce business on the JioMart platform using WhatsApp and to support small businesses on WhatsApp," he said. Further, Jio said that market dynamics have improved in the recent past, as reflected by tariff hikes in December 2019, where all the operators revised their tariff plans upwards by up to 40 per cent. "During the year, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also initiated consultation process on feasibility of establishing a floor price for mobility services in the country," it said, adding that Jio would continue to actively engage with the regulator and industry stakeholders to drive growth for all. On the issue of call connect charges, where interconnect usage charge (IUC) would be reduced to zero with effect from January 1, 2021, Jio said it accordingly introduced a charge of 6 paise/minute on all off-net outgoing voice minutes to pass through the impact of change in regulatory stance on IUC in October 2019. "This has led to a significant improvement in voice traffic mix as misusers of free voice services have left the network and Jio is now a net receiver of IUC. Jio continues to believe that transition to the BAK (Bill and Keep) regime will hasten the adoption of more efficient technologies like VoLTE, which have negligible cost for carrying and servicing essential voice services," RIL said. In the recent months, Reliance Industries has secured over Rs 1.15 lakh crore from global tech investors including Facebook by selling a tad less than a quarter of its digital business and raised Rs 53,124 crore by selling shares to existing investors in the past days. Sale of stake in Jio Platforms raised Rs 1,15,693.95 crore from marquee names including Facebook, Silver Lake, Vista Equity Partners, General Atlantic, KKR, Mubadala, ADIA, TPG, L Catterton and PIF since April 22, 2020. MBI ANS ANS

Jio poised to play key role in development of 5G ecosystem in India: RIL

New Delhi, Nov 15 () Reliance Jio on Friday said that delaying the implementation of zero call connect charges beyond January 2020 will hurt affordability of telecom services in a sector where users have benefited from free voice calls.
 Reliance Jio Director Mahendra Nahata said that the ratio of incoming and outgoing call is now at par with each other and traffic asymmetry can, therefore, no longer be the reason to delay implementation of Bill and Keep (BAK) regime (that is zero mobile termination charge from January 1, 2020).
 Traffic symmetry indicates that telecom operator will not have any outstanding balance of interconnect usage charges (IUC) against other networks.
 Speaking at Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) open house on IUC issue, Nahata said Airtel had expanded 4G network and Vodafone Idea too is talking about expanding their 4G network.
 "We are not considering any profit or loss, but opposing it on the basis of principle. Criticising the decision of government or regulatory authorities from a distant location is beyond our understanding. Therefore, please take a decision after due diligence on all the points that we have raised," he said.
 Nahata questioned data being shown by telecom operators and alleged that the subscriber traffic is being diverted to 2G, 3G network to show cost of voice is high.
 Nahata said that in case Trai does not favour implementation of BAK regime from January 2020 then at least interconnect usage charges currently at 6 paise should be brought down.
 "When you had implemented 6 paise charge, 4G traffic was one per cent. Today that traffic is much higher so the costs must have come down," he said.
 A Vodafone Idea official said that consumers today have the option of moving to other networks through mobile number portability (MNP).
 "Today customers have option of MNP and they can move to other network. It is wrong to say that any operator is holding back customers on 2G network," the official said, demanding that the mobile call termination charges should continue.
 Airtel said that IUC should not come down to zero and the BAK regime should be postponed by at least three years.
 Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel's Chief Regulatory Officer Ravi Gandhi rejected allegations of data fudging terming them as "misplaced" and said that people at times used the company's SIM into second slot of mobile phone which generally supports 2G or 3G network.
 He said there are 40 crore consumers are on 2G network and they use low-cost feature phones. Shutting down 2G network will mean depriving such consumers of telecom services. PRS MBI MSS ANS
ANS

Delay in implementation of zero call connect charges to hurt service affordability: Jio

Reliance Jio’s promotional plan that offered free voice calls until this year’s end has got Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) investigate the matter. Brought by India's largest telcos Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, the complaint to TRAI want clarification on the matter from the regulator. 
 
"Operators have come and met us and in continuation with the letter they have submitted earlier, raised the interconnection usage charges (IUC), predatory and non-discriminatory pricing and other issues," Trai chairman RS Sharma told the Economic Times , adding that the authority would study the complaints. 
 
"A common letter has been submitted and the TTO (Telecommunication Tariff Order) was discussed today . Trai chairman said that he will examine the Jio tariff and look into the matter soon and get back to us," Vodafone India chief executive Sunil Sood told the ET. 
A 2004 regulation of TRAI mandates that tariffs by service providers should be non-predatory, non-discriminatory and compliant with IUC, a fee payable to an operator for receiving calls from other networks. The fee is 14 paise per minute. 
 
Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal had explained the issue in an interview to ET on September 21, saying that if a voice service is provided for free, it would be less than the IUC of 14 paise a minute and fall foul of the TTO. 
 
"When you go below that cost, that is a very straightforward situation of predatory pricing. We will be looking at Trai to rule on this particular aspect as per their own tariff order," Mittal had said. 
 
On the other hand, Trai have reviewed operator-wise data from September 15-19. It has slapped show cause notices to telcos, saying they were prima facie found to be violating licence conditions related to interconnection and quality of service norms.

TRAI to investigate whether Reliance Jio’s free voice offer is predatory for other telcos

<ul><li>One of India’s largest telecom operators has seen profit for the first time in at least two years.</li><li>A part of the 13% fall in average revenue per user (ARPU) was made up by the savings on access charges that <keyword id="15491" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Airtel">Airtel</keyword> would have to pay Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio. </li><li>It will be interesting to see what the share market reacts to today, May 18 – a decline in ARPU or the first profit after many quarters.</li></ul>Airtel has been one of India’s top telecom operators for a long time now, but it has swung to profitability after at least two years. This is significant for the company as India alone contributes to over two-thirds of its consolidated revenue. The profit after tax (PAT) of ₹456 crore is the first positive figure after eight consecutive quarters of losses for Sunil Mittal’s company. Even if the exceptional (one-time) items and tax are removed, at ₹165 crore, this is the profit for the company since September 2017. <div type="image" title="Airtel PBT PAT Q4 FY21." msid="82714538" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Airtel&amp;#39;s PBET and PAT over the last 5 years&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> What makes this rebound to a green bottomline even more interesting is that Airtel’s average revenue per user (ARPU) has fallen by nearly 13%. Airtel’s ARPU in the preceding quarter was ₹166, which has now fallen to ₹145. Out of the total fall of ₹21, Airtel has reported that ₹20 is due to the abolishment of interconnect usage charges (IUC). IUC is the cost that one mobile operator pays to another operator for carrying calls. So, if you call from a Jio number to an Airtel number, Airtel would receive money from Jio for carrying the call. <div type="image" title="Airtel ARPU Q4 FY21." msid="82714576" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Airtel&amp;#39;s average revenue per user over the last eight quarters&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> However, just like Jio or Vodafone Idea paid Airtel to connect to its network, Mittal’s company had to pay them for those calls that went the other way. Therefore, it made up for some of that lost revenue in money saved in the access charges. That amounted to nearly ₹1,300 crore (nearly four times the net profit). Other income – refers to income derived from unrelated activities like interest, rent, sale of assets or anything that is not directly the main business of the company ⁠– also helped Airtel boost its bottomline by another ₹1,300 crore. Airtel’s share price has lost 4% in five straight days of decline ahead of the earnings. It will be interesting to see what the market reacts to today, May 18 – a fall in ARPU or the first profit in many quarters. Remember, the India business is worth more than two thirds of the revenue. <div type="image" title="Airtel 01_04_21 to 17_05_21." msid="82714617" hostid="261" caption="&amp;lt;p&amp;gt;Airtel share price since the beginning of April&amp;lt;/p&amp;gt;"></div> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio-is-making-less-money-off-its-subscribers-than-it-did-12-months-ago/articleshow/82331233.cms">Reliance Jio is making less money off its subscribers than it did 12 months ago</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/telecom/news/airtel-adds-3-times-more-subscribers-than-reliance-jio-vodafone-idea-turns-positive-for-the-first-time-in-15-months/articleshow/81562851.cms">Airtel adds 3 times more subscribers than Jio while Vodafone Idea gets net addition first time in 15 months</a>

You Searched For "jio iuc cost" and got 11 results

Reliance Jio asks TRAI to either reduce or remove IUC charges

BI India Tech Bureau

Jio will charge you for calls to other networks but Airtel and Vodafone won't⁠— Here's why

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Three-year-old Jio is now making $2 billion in 3 months ⁠— and it is weeding out the low-spenders and making data addicts pay more

Katya Naidu

Reliance Jio is paying the price for being the ‘second SIM’ of choice

Katya Naidu

IUC becomes bone of contention between incumbent telcos and Jio

BI India Bureau

Airtel, Vodafone, Idea blame Jio for revenue losses

BI India Bureau

Jio's new ₹599 ‘all-in-one’ subscriptions offer the biggest bang for your buck

Prabhjote Gill

Jio poised to play key role in development of 5G ecosystem in India: RIL

PTI

Delay in implementation of zero call connect charges to hurt service affordability: Jio

PTI

TRAI to investigate whether Reliance Jio’s free voice offer is predatory for other telcos

BI India Bureau

Airtel's India business is back in the black after a very long time

Rounak Jain

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