IAMAI opposes proposal to fix minimum price for phone calls, data

The Internet and Mobile Association of India, which represents companies like Google, Facebook, and Whatsapp, has opposed proposal to fix a minimum price for phone calls and data services.

The industry body said that recent hike of rates by all three service providers prove that telecom service providers (TSPs) are responsive to market realities and there exists no evidence of market failure based on which any tariff regulation by way of floor price may be justified.

“The concept of having a floor price for telecom services is fraught with complications. The floor price will need to be based on the cost of the provision of service,” the IAMAI said in a statement.

It further said that as different TSPs have different cost structures and different cost of delivery of services, the selection of a representative cost is problematic.