Govt rules out more reliefs to telcos, feels sector out of financial stress

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea should not expect any relief from the government, which feels with the tariff hikes and the deferment of the regime of zero interconnect usage charges (IUC) by another year, the sector is out of financial stress and does not require help from the Centre.

Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea will have to shell out Rs 35,000 crore and Rs 54,000 crore, respectively.

“Going against the decision of the Supreme Court is unethical and we have always maintained that the review petitions filed by the telcos (Airtel and Vodafone Idea) do not hold any merit,” an official told Business Standard.

All the companies have increased tariffs by 40 per cent in December and the IUC regime has also been extended. This is enough relief for them, the official added.

On December 18, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) deferred the implementation of the zero IUC regime by a year till January 1, 2021, and sought stakeholder views on whether it should set a floor and ceiling for voice and data tariffs, even as it termed the proposal “anti-consumer”.