Tariff hike: Trai faces TDSAT ire

The Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) today pulled up the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for not intervening till now in the matter of recent tariff hike by three major telecom players "" Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea.

Replying to a petition by NGO Telecom Watchdog on last month's hike in charges by the operators, Trai said: "We are constantly watching in this issue... And the charges are within the ceiling limits."

Telecom Watchdog sought an the regulator's intervention on the price hike by Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea and alleged that the three telcos have formed a cartel and increased local call charges by 20 per cent along with 20-32 per cent increase on ISD calls.

The tribunal also said it wanted a positive response from the regulator on this issue. On this, Trai counsel said he would take instructions from the regulator on what they could do in this matter. Trai has put the tariffs under forbearance policy, through which it monitors the level of charges, after a persistent downward trend due to competition in the past. The NGO alleged that the trio was even violating the "principle of economics of sale" as they were charging higher tariff in Delhi in comparison to Chennai.

In Chennai, Airtel charges Rs 0.99 for local call but in Delhi it is Rs 1.20. For an SMS it was charging Rs 0.05 only in Chennai but is collecting Rs 1.20 in Delhi.

Vodafone Essar was charging Rs 1.20 in Delhi for a local call as compared to Rs 0.99 in Chennai. For STD, the operator was collecting Rs 2.65 in Delhi as against Rs 2.40 in Chennai, the NGO contended. Meanwhile, the tribunal asked the NGO to furnish a list of consumers whom it was representing. According to the Trai Act, TDSAT could entertain only such petitions which are filed by a group of consumers.

The tribunal has listed the matter for September 12 for hearing.