Dialling For Trouble

The primary objective of telecom deregulation in India seems to be to create controversy, a very frustrated telecom equipment multinational executive said a couple of months ago. He couldnt be more right. A decision by the department of telecommunications (DoT) to increase tariffs for calls made from basic telecom networks to cellular phones up to some 30 times the present charge made the headlines. DoT wanted to charge a maximum of Rs 28 and a minimum of over Rs 6 per three-minute call, compared with the current Rs 1.25 a call tariff. Much to the consternation of the cellular operators, the charges will also be applicable to calls made within a city. Predictably, the matter has ended up in the courts.

But, says a senior DoT functionary, These are our tariffs. All that we are saying is that a DoT subscriber will now need to pay more for a call from his phone to a mobile one. We are not changing the cellular-to-cellular or the cellular-to-fixed tariffs. Additional solicitor general A M Singhvi who represents DoT in the present case, reportedly told a television news crew earlier this week, This is like having Maruti (Udyog Ltd) going to court against a government decision to hike petrol prices because it feels the decision will upset demand for cars.