Reliance accused of predatory pricing

Cellular operators have accused Reliance Infocomm of offering predatory prices in Chennai and Tamil Nadu circles, and have sought telecom regulator Trai's intervention immediately.

In a letter to Trai Chairman Pradip Baijal, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has said tariffs for pre-paid subscribers in Chennai and Tamil Nadu, for national and inter-circle calls, have been reduced to an extent, non-complying with Trai's prescribed IUC regime.

Trai had once dismissed the COAI's allegation against Reliance, saying "differential tariffs in the retail segment were permissible and the service provider must be able to meet the IUC expenses on weighted average basis.

But, the COAI has once again petitioned Trai citing reasons that the authority had applied different yardsticks in the case of Reliance for dismissing the charges.

"We are perplexed to note that the authority has applied different yardsticks for different service providers on the issue of weighted average IUC charges," the association said.