TRAI extends comment submission date for IUC

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has extended the last date for receiving comments on interconnect charges to 22 December. The interconnect charges are the amount one operator pays to the other for using its network to complete the call. Earlier, when TRAI released the consultation paper on Interconnect Usage Charges’ (IUC), it had asked the stakeholders to send in their comments by 11 and counter-comments by 18 December.

Also Read: TRAI to review IUC charges this week

As reported by PTI, the regulator said that, the authority has decided to extend the date of submission of written comments and counter comments to 22, December and 29 December on the request of some of the service providers. The regulator has first indicated the IUC in 2003 and the subsequent charges were revised in 2006 and then in 2009.

Presently functioning IUC policy was notified in 2009. Currently, the termination charge for all local and national long-distance mobile calls accounts to 20- paise per minute. This indicates that the telecom operator has to pay 20 paise per minute to the other operator on whose network the call is ending. And in case of the international long distance calls the termination charge stands at 40 paise per minute.