Increase international termination rates: telcos
26-08-2010
Termination charges levied by India on incoming global traffic are among the lowest in the world
India's telecom companies want terminating charges for international calls increased. This will result not only in increased foreign exchange earning for the country, they say, but will also result in reduced subsidy on calling costs for international subscribers, who on the whole have a much higher paying capacity.
Currently, any international incoming call to India is charged a flat 40 paise/minute when it terminates here. Domestic operators want to raise this by a minimum of 33% to 60 paise a minute.
They say that globally, most countries have high termination charges for calls coming in from foreign destinations. Indian customers who make international calls are charged very high termination rates, sometimes as high as Rs3-4 a minute, to certain countries in West Asia like Saudi Arabia and Oman
Since incoming call traffic to India is estimated to be nearly four times higher than outgoing international call traffic, telcos say an increase in termination rates (for incoming international calls) will lead to higher foreign exchange coming into the country.
Last year, India's regulator TRAI turned down BSNL's demand that domestic operators here be allowed to charge international telcos up to Rs 3/minute for terminating calls here. BSNL had said that this would increase industry's revenues by up to $1 billion annually and also allow companies to cross subsidise their local operations.
The regulator had then raised termination charges by a third to Rs 0.40/minute. Many feel that it is unlikely that TRAI may resort to another hike in this area in the immediate future.
As per industry estimates, the average rate to terminate a call being made from India to the UAE is about Rs 4/minute, while it is little over Rs 3/minute for Saudi Arabia, Rs 0.80/minute for Malaysia and Rs 2.80 for the United Kingdom. On the other hand, Indian telcos receive a flat Rs 0.40 for all incoming calls from abroad, irrespective of the country of origin. ?The termination charges levied by India on incoming international traffic are among the lowest in the world.
Based on story in Economic Times
India's telecom companies want terminating charges for international calls increased. This will result not only in increased foreign exchange earning for the country, they say, but will also result in reduced subsidy on calling costs for international subscribers, who on the whole have a much higher paying capacity.
Currently, any international incoming call to India is charged a flat 40 paise/minute when it terminates here. Domestic operators want to raise this by a minimum of 33% to 60 paise a minute.
They say that globally, most countries have high termination charges for calls coming in from foreign destinations. Indian customers who make international calls are charged very high termination rates, sometimes as high as Rs3-4 a minute, to certain countries in West Asia like Saudi Arabia and Oman
Since incoming call traffic to India is estimated to be nearly four times higher than outgoing international call traffic, telcos say an increase in termination rates (for incoming international calls) will lead to higher foreign exchange coming into the country.
Last year, India's regulator TRAI turned down BSNL's demand that domestic operators here be allowed to charge international telcos up to Rs 3/minute for terminating calls here. BSNL had said that this would increase industry's revenues by up to $1 billion annually and also allow companies to cross subsidise their local operations.
The regulator had then raised termination charges by a third to Rs 0.40/minute. Many feel that it is unlikely that TRAI may resort to another hike in this area in the immediate future.
As per industry estimates, the average rate to terminate a call being made from India to the UAE is about Rs 4/minute, while it is little over Rs 3/minute for Saudi Arabia, Rs 0.80/minute for Malaysia and Rs 2.80 for the United Kingdom. On the other hand, Indian telcos receive a flat Rs 0.40 for all incoming calls from abroad, irrespective of the country of origin. ?The termination charges levied by India on incoming international traffic are among the lowest in the world.
Based on story in Economic Times
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