Regulator Trai’s decision to cut call connection charge rate by more than half, if executed, will hit earnings of old mobile operators to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore in the current fiscal, industry body COAI on Wednesday said. Rajan S Mathews, Director General, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), in an interview to PTI demanded that Trai should explain the calculation model it had used to arrive at the figure of 6 paise for the interconnection usage charge, which will be effective October 1.
The detailed methodology on which Trai’s calculations are based is part of the explanatory memorandum to the regulations all of which have been placed in the public domain now, Trai Chairman RS Sharma on Wednesday told PTI. Mathews contended that the assumption of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) that all operators should move towards VolTE technology is not practical as it will hit services for 2G users who account for 70 per cent of the total subscriber base in the country.