Telcos can explore remedies to Trai's regulation: Jaitley on IUC

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said the telecom regulator has given its views on Interconnection Usage Charges (IUC) and it is for the service providers to explore remedies for it.

"The regulator has given its views. It is for the concerned players to explore whatever remedies are there for them," Jaitley told reporters here.

He was replying to a query on IUC after a meeting of the Union Cabinet.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Tuesday came out with a regulation cutting call-termination charges from mobile to mobile by over half to 6 paise per minute effective from October 1.

The sector regulator also plans to phase out Interconnection Usage Charges (IUC) by January 1, 2020.

The measure drew stiff opposition from a majority of telecom operators who plan to seek legal redressal.

Reacting to the TRAI decision, Cellular Operators' Association of India's Director General Rajan S. Mathews on Tuesday told IANS: "Clearly this is a disastrous tariff order. We have indicated earlier that the regulator has to be transparent about how it is arriving at a number. This massive reduction is disastrous for the financial health of the sector. Majority of our members will look for legal redressal."