All major telcos, except Jio, want Trai to delay scrapping of IUC

NEW DELHI : More cracks have emerged in the already divided telecom sector with Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd in favour of scrapping interconnect usage charge (IUC) from next year, while Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, or BSNL, opposing the move.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had recently floated a fresh consultation paper to see if there was a need to revise the date for scrapping IUC from 1 January 2020, given the continuing imbalance in inter-operator traffic.

Airtel and Vodafone Idea, which are currently battling shrinking revenue, thanks to Jio’s cut-throat tariffs, have welcomed Trai’s regulatory rethink.