Lok Sabha Question No. 5365 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: Tariff for Telecommunication Services
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.5365 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28 th      MARCH, 2018

## TARIFF FOR TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES

5365. SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  tariff  for  various  telecommunication  services  in  the  country  are higher in comparison to other countries;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of the present pulse rates of the various telecommunication services of  United  States,  Australia  and  our  neighbouring  countries  i.e.  China,  Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka separately; and
- (d) the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  reduce  the  tariff  rates  of various telecommunication services in the country?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

(a) & (b) As per the present tariff framework in the country, the tariff for telecommunication  services  is  under  forbearance  except  for  national  roaming,  rural fixed  line  services  and  leased  circuits.  TSPs  have  the  flexibility  to  offer  different  tariff plans/schemes depending on the market conditions and other commercial considerations. The tariff applicable for various telecommunication services consists of upfront  charges  for  the  plan/scheme,  fixed  recurring  charges  and  usages  charges  of various types. The total charge to be paid by the consumer for a service varies amongst different service providers with same service area and same service provider in different service  areas.  It  is  therefore  difficult  to  compare  the  tariff  levels  prevailing  in  different parts of the country or between different countries. The tariff level in India is generally considered to be amongst the lowest in the world.

The tariff plans are of bundled nature and the trade-off is generally between monthly fixed charges and variable (call) charges. Therefore, average outgo per outgoing minute for usage would be a realistic indicator of average tariff. In similar manner the average outgo  per  GB  of  data  can  be  considered  as  a  realistic  indicator  of  data  tariff.   The average  outgo  for  both  voice  and  data  services  in  India  have  shown  continuous downward trend, particularly in the recent past. Details are shown in the Table below.

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## Average outgo for Voice and Data

| Quarter Ending   |   Average outgo per minute (voice) (Rs.) |   Average outgo per GB data (Rs.) |
|------------------|------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------|
| Jun-16           |                                     0.49 |                               205 |
| Sep-16           |                                     0.48 |                               184 |
| Dec-16           |                                     0.44 |                               164 |
| Mar-17           |                                     0.31 |                                19 |
| Jun-17           |                                     0.27 |                                17 |
| Sep-17           |                                     0.23 |                                21 |
| Dec-17           |                                     0.19 |                                19 |

(c)    Present  pulse  rate  of  other  countries  is  not  available  in  TRAI.  Some  information available on the websites of certain operators in these countries is as under:

60 sec pulse rate

| Operator              | Pulse rate        |
|-----------------------|-------------------|
| Vodafone Australia    | 60 sec pulse rate |
| Virgin Australia      | 30 sec pulse rate |
| Banglalink Bangladesh | 10 sec pulse rate |
| Warid Pakistan        | 30 sec pulse rate |
| Mobitel Srilanka      | 60 sec pulse rate |

(d) As indicated in para (a) and (b) the tariff is under forbearance and is decided by market  forces.  The  rate  for  voice  and  services  in  India  is  showing  continuously downward trend and no further steps are under consideration of TRAI presently.

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