ISD tariffs to reduce by 10-15 per cent

New Delhi, Mar 8: The rift between state-owned telecom services provider BSNL and TRAI over reducing Access Deficit Charge (ADC) is likely to benefit consumers with the international long distance (ILD) call tariffs set to dip 10-15 per cent from April.

Consumer organisations and private telecom service providers have been fighting with BSNL to reduce the ADC to one-third of its current level (Rs 3,335 crore) to between Rs 1,000-1,600 crore.

ADC cuts are usually announced in March every year. This year, the telecom regulator is expected to make its decision within the next two-three weeks with the new ADC regime likely to be applicable from April/May.

Based on the data provided by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), international operators received 11,376 million international incoming minutes and sent 3,478 million outgoing minutes from India.

While international incoming calls contributed Rs 1,800 crore, outgoing ISD calls contributed a mere Rs 257 crore.

Roughly Rs 1,278 crore came from 1.5 per cent annual gross revenues (AGR) share on account of ADC on national calls, adding up to a total of Rs 3,335 crore.

BSNL is the single largest beneficiary of ADC and received a staggering 96 per cent (Rs 3,200 crore) of the total ADC collected during 2006-07.

Consumer organisations are demanding an end to all ADC from this year on.

Col (Retd) SN Agarwal, telecom consultant, VOICE, argues that rather than subsidising consumers, ADC has become a mechanism to subsidise BSNL.

In its defence, BSNL said it deserves ADC to support its low rural tariffs and social obligations.

According to BSNL Director-Finance S D Saxena the position taken by consumer forums and the industry is uninformed.

UNI