Jio levies 6 paise per minute IUC on customers, what is Airtel’s take?

With Reliance Jio stating that it would charge 6 paise per minute as IUC for calls made to other networks such as Airtel and Vodafone-Idea, it only becomes worth checking out if these latter networks would follow Jio’s move of imposing outgoing call charges to rival networks. In this regard, Bharti Airtel has stated that the current 6 paise per minute IUC charge is below that of the real cost of completing the call. The telco feels hopeful that from 1 January 2020, the IUC would be zero. Airtel has also acknowledged Jio’s move of passing on the burden of IUC to customers.  

Airtel's statement

“One of our competitors has imposed a rate of 6 paise for all off-net calls made to other operators to cover the termination charge of IUC (Interconnect Usage Charge). They have gone on to suggest that TRAI has re-opened this issue.,” stated Airtel in an official statement. “Clearly, this off-net charge being levied, therefore, is to force IUC to be brought down despite the heavy burden it puts in the receiving network. We are grateful that this very timely consultation paper to reassess IUC has been issued By TRAI.” 

At this juncture, for the uninitiated, IUC is the charge levied by an operator of a receiving network on which an outgoing call is placed by another operator. This latter operator is levied the IUC, by the former. The exact IUC is fixed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Reliance Jio has already issued a list of IUC specific packs which its prepaid subscribers could avail – recharge. The telco also informed that it would offer extra internet with these IUC recharge packs to cover up for the IUC paid by the subscribers.  

On Bharti Airtel's part, it is not known if the incumbent telco would resort to following Jio in levying IUC on customers. “The telecom industry is in a state of deep financial stress since the last three years with several operators having gone bankrupt and thousands of jobs having being lost. The IUC is determined based on the cost per call. Given the massive 2G customer base in India the cost of the call at 6 paise is already significantly below the real cost of completing the call.” adds Airtel.  

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