At an open-house discussion on organised by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea were at loggerheads with international long-distance operators (ILDOs) such as Tata Communications and Spectra over the revenue sharing arrangement of international call termination charges (ITC).
While, the telcos argued for raising the ITC to Rs 0.65-Rs 1.25, from current Rs 0.30, as per ILDOs, ITC should be shared in the ratio of 60:40, at whatever rates determined, between the terminating network, or a telco, and the ILDO, warning that their business was under threat. However, telcos holding ILD and national long distance (NLD) licence opposed this proposal.
ILDOs are telecom licensees who provide voice, data and video communication between Indian and foreign networks, and are paid a fee by the terminating telcos.
Airtel and Jio want the current fixed ITC mechanism to continue but with a higher rate. Vodafone Idea though backed an element of forbearance, but at a higher price range. A higher ITC would add to the revenue of telcos.
Meanwhile, as per Bharti Airtel, ITC should be raised to Re 1 per minute immediately, and subsequently to Rs 3-3.50, which is equivalent to the charge paid by the Indian access providers for the termination in foreign countries. As per Jio, ITC should be fixed in the range of 65-75 paise per minute, whereas, Vodafone Idea wants a minimum range of be Rs 0.75 to Rs 1.25 to be kept.
