Trai Removes Floor Pricing Agenda from Discussion as Telcos Set to Raise Tariffs

There were a lot of talks in the industry about the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) moving on to set floor pricing, something that would decide a bottom limit for the tariffs in the industry and force the telcos probably to increase their pricing. However, as per a new ET report on the matter now the discussion about setting a floor pricing is off the table as the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) and the telecom regulator have not agreed on the points, and also the telecom operators in the industry have decided to go ahead and raise the tariffs on their own. It is worth noting that all the telecom operators in the industry Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and even BSNL have said that they are going to increase tariffs for their plans in December. This has led the officials to drop any ongoing discussions about floor pricing. In fact, a DoT official has said on the matter that the telcos have raised the tariffs, and they can raise them further as well, and the department won’t intervene.

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COAI to Watch ARPU Stabilisation

The telecom operators also agree that there is no need for a floor pricing as they themselves are going to raise tariffs. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) which represents all the telecom operators in the country and the gear manufacturers has said that it will watch the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) and till what levels it stabilises. If it reaches sustainable levels, then there would be no need for a floor pricing, COAI Director General, Rajan Matthews said. He further added, “Floor prices are a complex issue, and for now our focus is on enhancing ARPUs to sustainable levels, which will lead to the recovery of the industry.”