The TRAI is asking if we need to change the current approach, where users aren't charged for incoming calls, and only the "calling party pays". It asks this in the context of Whatsapp and Skype calls, where both the users receiving and making the call pay for data usage. So the TRAI is asking in a consultation (pdf) whether the Calling-Party-Pays (CPP), applicable to telecom, should continue. When a subscriber dials a voice call, his/her telco pays Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC) in form of termination charges to another telco, whose network the call terminates on. Subsequently this is billed to users under the current calling-party-pays (CPP) method: a subscriber making a call pays for it to his telco (minutes or seconds billing), and the telco in turn pays termination charges to the other telco, where the call terminates on. TRAI currently charges IUC on the basis of the type of network; note that there is no termination charges for calls originating on wire-line networks: Why TRAI is consulting on setting new IUC charges: When BSNL submitted a proposal to launch fixed mobile telephony (FMT) wherein calls are hosted via the Internet (3G, 4G, WiFi), few telcos raised concerns against it, stating that it allowed BSNL to bypass international termination charges. While those telcos added that setting no termination charges for wireline networks would lead to “huge losses to not only the access providers but also to the exchequer”. Subsequently, BSNL’s plans were put on hold. But this has raised TRAI’s concerns and…
Please subscribe to MediaNama. Don't share prints and PDFs.
You May Also Like
News
Google has released a Google Travel Trends Report which states that branded budget hotel search queries grew 179% year over year (YOY) in India, in...
Advert
135 job openings in over 60 companies are listed at our free Digital and Mobile Job Board: If you’re looking for a job, or...
News
By Aroon Deep and Aditya Chunduru You’re reading it here first: Twitter has complied with government requests to censor 52 tweets that mostly criticised...
News
Rajesh Kumar* doesn’t have many enemies in life. But, Uber, for which he drives a cab everyday, is starting to look like one, he...