Bombay HC to hear telcos' apeal against IUC rate cuts on February 6

Bombay High Court will hear Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone India’s petitions for a stay order on reduced interconnect usage charge (IUC) on February 6.

The incumbents had moved the Bombay High Court last year, seeking a stay on the reduction, marking the start of another legal confrontation between telcos and the telecom regulator.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) on September 19 decided to reduce IUC to 6 paise a minute from 14 paise, from October 1 and also decided to scrap the charge from January 2020. The charge, paid by one carrier to another where a call terminates, is a revenue generator for that telco and any reduction would lead to loss in that net revenue.


Mukesh Ambani-led Jio had sought to implead itself in the case as well, saying it was an interested party, and counter-argued that older carriers had already recovered their costs.

The stakes are high as companies including Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular stand to lose a combined Rs 5,000 crore in revenue annually, because of the rate cuts.

Bharti and Idea had argued earlier that Trai had exceeded its mandate by talking about technology change and forcing carriers to move to a particular technology through a lower IUC. They had added that Trai should protect telcos and consumers, but Trai lawyers opposed any stay and said that IUC cut won't have any immediate impact on mobile phone operators.

Lawyers representing the regulator had filed caveats in 18 high courts across the country, asking to be heard before any order is issued.