Will Trai Implement the Zero IUC Regime on January 1, 2021? Let’s Talk

A year ago on December 18, 2019, the Trai decided to defer the introduction of zero IUC regime to January 2021. Back then, the move was opposed by Reliance Jio and welcomed by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. Since then, there’s no update from the Trai or telecom operators on IUC (Interconnect Usage Charges). Thanks to the postponement of zero IUC regime, Reliance Jio is charging its customers six paise per minute for non-Jio calls, and also has a FUP limit on every unlimited combo plan. Now, the biggest question is: will the zero IUC regime come into effect on January 1, 2021? Well, we believe it will become effective since there’s no update from Trai on postponing once again.

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Zero IUC Regime: What You Need to Know?

For the unaware, IUC or Interconnect Usage Charges is a cost paid by one telecom operator to another when its customer makes outgoing calls to the other operator’s customers. In other words, these calls are also known as ‘off-net calls.’ The current Interconnect Usage Charges are set at six paise per minute by Trai, and on January 1, 2021, the IUC will become zero.

Reliance Jio is pushing for the zero IUC regime because it operates on a complete LTE network, whereas Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel are GSM operators. Since all the telcos now have VoLTE service across the country, we believe they will not oppose the implementation of zero IUC regime.

Is Zero IUC Regime a Good News for Reliance Jio Customers?