Oct
9
Indian telecom tariffs operate on what is called as the pulse plan, which is typically pegged to minutes, and call rates are based on these pulses. So, for example, if the pulse rate is pegged to 1 minute, then whether you speak for 5 seconds, or whether you speak for 55 seconds, you will get charged the same rate. This helps telecom companies since they get more revenue, after all, if a number of calls are closer to 10-20 seconds, and you get charged for a minute, then they earn more. Not many people have really felt that they could challenge this policy, even though this is equivalent to charging the customer extra. However, one of the companies in the telecom space decided to try to be different, and they have come out with a plan where you can get charged with a pulse plan of 1 sec, so you are literally charged only as much as you speak.
And now the telecom regulator has got into the act. It has tried to address this customer issue, and advised that it will make a recommendation that all the telecom operators need to follow. Given that this will be a revenue loss for the operators, they are hesitant to follow down the path of offering a plan to their customers that allows customers to select the option of having a per-second plan (link to article):
Despite rumbles of discontent by telecom operators and the tanking of telecom stocks over the past few days, Trai chairman J S Sarma on Thursday confirmed he was examining the feasibility of bringing in a direction, making it mandatory for service providers to include a ‘pay-per-second’ tariff plan in their bouquet of plans. “We will issue a consultation paper on the matter in a month,” he said in a hurriedly convened press conference.
Clarifying the meaning of “mandatory option”, Sarma explained that it will be mandatory for the operators to offer at least one such plan, but optional for the consumers on whether or not they wish to subscribe to such a plan. However, Sarma said operators would be free to determine the rate that they charge per second.
Operators are taking the argument that TRAI need not intervene in matters of plans and tariffs, and that the high level of competition in India has meant that market rates in India are among the lowest, but many of these lower tariffs were also the result of regulator involvement over the years.
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