Government may soon have ‘good news’ for Airtel, Vodafone and Reliance Jio

NEW DELHI: Discussions are on in the higher echelons of the government about the possibility of setting a floor price for voice tariffs to restore the financial health of debt-ridden companies, people familiar with the matter said.
No decision has been taken, said these people, and the government is aware the final say in this matter belongs to the telecom regulator. Any move to fix a ‘floor tariff ’ will mark a dramatic shift in stance as authorities have so far left it to telcos.
Other moves being considered to give relief to the sector include a two-year moratorium on spectrum payments and extending the tenure of bandwidth payments from 16 years, besides release of ₹36,000-crore GST refunds.