Bharti Airtel CEO Thinks Tariffs are Too Low and Cannot Remain That Way for Long

Bharti Airtel Chief Executive Officer, Gopal Vittal, has some interesting things to say about the tariffs in the industry. The top-level executive of one of the largest telecom operators in the country has remarked saying that the tariffs which stay at the current level are unsustainable and they can’t stay for long. Vittal has also added saying that these tariffs should also go up eventually for the better health of the industry. He also expanded on the issue of Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC) saying that the industry is in wait of the outcome of the consultation paper that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had floated a while back, on the issue.

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Airtel CEO Talks About Unsustainable Tariffs

On the sidelines of the biggest telecom event going on in the country, Indian Mobile Congress 2019, Gopal Vittal said, “Over the last 20 years IUC has been absorbed in the cost of business and tariff is what it is and we feel that the tariff is unsustainable and should go up.” As per a Business Standard report, when asked about whether or not Airtel will hike tariff Vittal refused to make any comments and said that it is better not to speculate.

It is crucial to note that the war over the IUC matter heated up when Trai floated a consultation paper in the industry, asking stakeholders and the companies whether or not the levying period for IUC should be extended along with some other issues. To recall, as per Trai’s original plan, the industry was to make a gradual shift to a zero-IUC regime by the end of 2019. Meaning that from the previous limit of 14 paise per minute, then to 6 paise per minute, the cost for IUC was to come down to zero, but it seems that Trai’s plans have been delayed and there could be an extension to when Trai plans to shift to the zero-IUC regime.