NGO may take rate hike to court
Telecom Watchdog, the NGO which has gone to court against Vodafone’s purchase of a controlling stake in Hutch Essar, has now threatened to go to court seeking action against GSM operators who have increased their voice and SMS tariffs in the last ...
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: Telecom Watchdog, the NGO which has gone to court against Vodafone’s purchase of a controlling stake in Hutch Essar, has now threatened to go to court seeking action against GSM operators who have increased their voice and SMS tariffs in the last two days.
The NGO has alleged that Vodafone Essar and Bharti Airtel, which hold 70% market share among the private GSM players, were resorting to cartelisation as they had hiked the tariffs for STD, local calls and SMS charges simultaneously. It has also said that if Trai did not act against these operators within this week, it would move court over the issue.
Trai has already warned Airtel and Vodafone Essar that the regulator would intervene if the tariff hikes for SMS are not rolled back. The regulator is also monitoring the tariff hike in STD and local calls, but yet to decide on the course of action.
Earlier this week, Bharti and Vodafone hiked local SMS rates by 20% to Rs 1.20 from Re 1. Prior to this, the two operators had also hiked STD tariffs and increased local call rates within their own networks by 20% to Rs 1.20 per minute.
The NGO has alleged that Vodafone Essar and Bharti Airtel, which hold 70% market share among the private GSM players, were resorting to cartelisation as they had hiked the tariffs for STD, local calls and SMS charges simultaneously. It has also said that if Trai did not act against these operators within this week, it would move court over the issue.
Trai has already warned Airtel and Vodafone Essar that the regulator would intervene if the tariff hikes for SMS are not rolled back. The regulator is also monitoring the tariff hike in STD and local calls, but yet to decide on the course of action.
Earlier this week, Bharti and Vodafone hiked local SMS rates by 20% to Rs 1.20 from Re 1. Prior to this, the two operators had also hiked STD tariffs and increased local call rates within their own networks by 20% to Rs 1.20 per minute.
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