Trai's dilemma

Regulator must balance reducing IUCs and mobile industry health

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or Trai, will soon decide on the vexed question of the interconnect user charge, or IUC. The IUC is a payment, per minute of a completed call, from the network where the call originates to the network where the call terminates. The essential idea behind the IUC is that it compensates the company where the call terminates for its investment in last-mile connectivity, since part of the call will naturally be carried over the infrastructure that the call receiver’s chosen mobile company has installed. Currently, the IUC is 14 paise a minute; the question