The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday increased the international termination charges (ITC) vide the issuance of ‘The Telecommunications Interconnection Usage Charges (Sixteen Amendment) Regulations, 2020″.
TRAI has revised the present regime of fixed ITC at Rs 0.3 per minute to forbearance regime within a prescribed range of Rs 0.35 per minute to Rs 0.65 per minute.
“We welcome this step by the Regulator to revise the Fixed International Termination Charge from 30 paise to a forbearance regime within a prescribed range of 35 paise to 65 paise per minute. In our response to the consultation paper, we had submitted that in order to protect the interest of Indian telecom operators, the regulator should prescribe a higher rate of ILD termination charge to ensure parity with other countries that terminate calls to India. With this revision, ILDOs are expected to adjust their charges accordingly and regain parity with international countries. This is certainly a step in the right direction and will ensure the country does not lose precious FOREX in paying higher international termination rates to other countries. The Indian telecom sector needs more such measures to ensure robust telecom infrastructure and financial health.”
COAI DG Rajan S Mathews
The regulator has also made it mandatory for the Access Service provider to offer a non-discriminatory rate of ITC to everyone to ensure the level playing field between standalone and integrated International Long-Distance Operators (ILDOs).
International termination charge (ITC) is the charge payable by an International Long Distance Operator (ILDO) who carries the call from outside the country, to the access provider in the country in whose network the call terminates.
