Mumbai: Troubled Vodafone Idea has warned that the Indian telecom market may move towards a position of "virtual monopoly" if Trai does not intervene in tariff fixation, while Airtel has cited "huge existential and financial crisis" to bat for fixation of floor price for two years.
Jio has termed the fixation of floor price for data services as "vital" for the health of telecom sector, and urged Trai to continue the policy of forbearance for voice services, which it said is the preferred telecom service of the subscribers at the bottom of the pyramid.
Jio further said hike in floor price should be undertaken gradually and be fixed at Rs 15 per GB for now -- against the prevailing Rs 9 to 12 per GB -- and taken to Rs 20 per GB after six to nine months depending on the data consumption growth.
In its recent submission to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), Vodafone Idea -- confronted with Rs 53,000 crore in AGR dues, of which it has so far only paid 7 per cent -- flagged the "deep financial distress" in the telecom sector, reflecting in unprecedented decline in revenues.
Over the last three years, half a dozen operators have exited by either merging their businesses with existing Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) or declaring bankruptcy, Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) rued.
"If the existing financial stress in the sector is not addressed within a short period, it could result in further bankruptcy and exit of TSPs from the market, leading to a state of virtual monopoly and absence of fair competition in the market," VIL said in its written submission.
The telco's comments were in response to Trai's consultation paper on 'Tariff Issues of Telecom Services'.
Making a strong case for Trai intervention, the company said to address the current financial stress, floor price must be considered for pure data plans, metered data plans and bundled usage plans; and fixed subscription charges for voice only, data only or voice and data subscribers.
Floor price should also be considered for unlimited usage plan on voice (say plan with 1,000 minutes limit) or data which will construe as a bundled plan; and off-net outgoing calls.
"Subject to above, other services, including on-net voice may continue to be under forbearance," Vodafone Idea said.
VIL said that among the telecom companies in the market, the public sector operator has been provided a significant financial assistance to sustain itself.
