Lok Sabha Question No. 80 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-07-18
Subject: Competition among Telecom Service Providers
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: TAMRADHWAJ SAHU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 80 TO BE ANSWERED ON 18 th   JULY, 2018

## COMPETITION AMONG TELECOM SERVICE PROVIDERS

## †80. SHRI TAMRADHWAJ SAHU:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the call rates of private mobile companies have dropped in the country during the recent years due to competition among them and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the role of public sector telecom companies has declined in view of the said competition and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to increase the market share of public sector telecom companies in the competitive telecom market?

## ANSWER

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

- (a) As  per the existing tariff framework,  tariff for  mobile services is  under forbearance  except  for  national  roaming.  Telecom  Service  Providers  (TSPs)  have flexibility to design their products to suit consumer demand and there are several tariff plans  and  schemes  on-offer  which  provide  subscribers  a  wide  choice  of  telecom products  and  services  as  per  their  need.    The  call  rates  of  both  private  mobile companies and Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) telecom companies have dropped in the  recent  years.    A  statement  showing  the  trend  of  Average  Outgo  Per  Outgoing Minute which is an indicator of voice call rates, is attached as Annexure-I.
- (b) & (c)         As per the details of market share of private TSPs and PSUs in respect of  total  subscriber  base  attached  as Annexure-II, there  is  marginal  increase  in subscriber base of the PSUs as compared to private TSPs. Further,PSUs are offering competitive tariff based on the market conditions.PSUs have also drawn a comprehensive  framework  for  augmentation/  upgradation  of  their  network  in  all spheres viz. wireless network, wireline network, data network, backhaul network and bandwidth augmentation with aggressive and innovative customer centric initiatives to retain/ enhance the market share.

## Annexure-I

## Trend of Average Outgo Per Outgoing Minute (in Rs.) Wireless (GSM) service

| Quarter Ending   |   Average Outgo Per Outgoing Minute (in Rs.) |
|------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| 31.03.2016       |                                         0.48 |
| 30.06.2016       |                                         0.49 |
| 30.09.2016       |                                         0.48 |
| 31.12.2016       |                                         0.44 |
| 31.03.2017       |                                         0.31 |
| 30.06.2017       |                                         0.27 |
| 30.09.2017       |                                         0.23 |
| 31.12.2017       |                                         0.19 |
| 31.03.2018       |                                         0.16 |

## Annexure-II

## Trend of Market Share of Private TSPs and PSUs in respect of Total Telephone Subscriber Base

| Quarter Ending   |   PrivateTSPs (%) |   PSUs (%) |
|------------------|-------------------|------------|
| 31.03.2016       |             89.78 |      10.22 |
| 30.06.2016       |             89.54 |      10.46 |
| 30.09.2016       |             89.32 |      10.68 |
| 31.12.2016       |             89.79 |      10.21 |
| 31.03.2017       |             89.81 |      10.19 |
| 30.06.2017       |             89.72 |      10.28 |
| 30.09.2017       |             89.59 |      10.41 |
| 31.12.2017       |             89.31 |      10.69 |
| 31.03.2018       |             89.15 |      10.85 |

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