Lok Sabha Question No. 17 (STARRED), answered on 2016-11-16
Subject: Zero Tariff Plan
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: TATHAGATA SATPATHY, RAVINDRA VISHWANATH GAIKWAD

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.17 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16 TH  NOVEMBER, 2016

## ZERO TARIFF PLAN

- *17. SHRI TATHAGATA SATPATHY: PROF. RAVINDRA VISHWANATH GAIKWAD:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether a new telecom player has entered with zero voice and data plan to the customers and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the Government has inquired into the matter to check any violation of guidelines  of  the  Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of  India  (TRAI)  and  spectrum allocation;
- (c) if so, the outcome thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto;
- (d) whether such a move by the company has a negative impact on the business of  the  telecom  companies  including  both  the  telecom  PSUs,  i.e.,  the    BSNL  and MTNL; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF THE LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF  LOK    SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  17    FOR  16 th NOVEMBER, 2016 REGARDING 'ZERO TARIFF PLAN'.

(a) to (e) As  per  Telecom  Regulatory  Authority  of  India  (TRAI)  Act  1997,  TRAI notifies the rate at which telecom services is to be provided. The guidelines/ Notice inviting  Application  (NIA)  for  allocation/  auction  of  spectrum  does  not  prescribe  the rates  at  which  the  services  are  to  be  provided  by  the  service  providers  to  its consumers.

A  new  telecom  player  has  filed  3  prepaid  and  7  post-paid  tariff  plans  with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Special benefits of free local and STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialing) voice calls and SMS (Short Messaging Service) in home and national roaming (maximum 100 SMS per day) and up to 4GB (Giga Byte) 4G (Generation) LTE (Long Term Evolution) data under these plans are being offered as 'promotional  offer'  till  3 rd December  2016  and  the  benefits  of  which  are  valid  till 31.12.2016.

On representations received from the industry, the matter of IUC (Interconnection Usage Charge) compliance of the plans was examined in the context of  Telecom  Tariff  Order  (30 th Amendment) 1999. After  examination  of  the  matter,  it was concluded by TRAI that the tariffs filed are not IUC non-compliant, predatory and discriminatory at present.

Since the guidelines/ NIA for allocation/ auction of spectrum do not prescribe the  rates  at  which  the  services  are  to  be  provided  by  the  service  providers  to  its customers,  the  question  of  violation  of  guidelines  for  spectrum  allocation  does  not arise.

Indian  Telecom  service  market  is  highly  competitive  with  five  to  six  telecom service providers in most of the service areas. The present tariff regulatory regime is based  on  the  principles  of  forbearance,  which  allows  flexibility  to  all  the  market players  to  decide  various  tariff  plans/products  for  different  service  areas  of  their operation.  Tariffs  can  therefore  be  offered  by  service  providers  to  counter  the competitive  tariffs  of  their  competitors  or  any  other  prevailing  market  conditions. However, TRAI keeps a close watch on the telecom tariffs being offered in the market and intervenes, if required, to ensure that the regulatory principles/orders/regulations/guidelines are being met.

Further, BSNL has drawn up aggressive and competitive tariff plans to acquire new  customers  and  also  to  retain  the  existing  customers  which  inter-alia  include unlimited  data  plan  offer,  initial  call  rate  at  the  rate  of  10  paise  and  30  paise  per minute,  etc.  MTNL  has  also  started  introducing  new  tariff  plans  to  meet  the challenges.

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