Finally, TRAI has decided to do away with the Access Deficit Charge (ADC), a levy paid by private players to BSNL for providing services in the rural areas.
Ringing in changes - Access Deficit Charges to be scrapped
- STD rates to fall
- Regulator hopes the move will eradicate the grey market
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It will be scrapped from April 1, 2008. With this, STD call rates are likely to tumble further. BSNL garnered about Rs 2,000 crore as ADC in 2006-07.
TRAI now feels that further support to BSNL’s social obligations can come from the universal service obligation fund (domestic telecom companies contribute 5 per cent of revenues to the fund).
Says Romal Shetty, Executive Director, KPMG India: “It’s a good development. ADC has been resented by telecom companies and has also been blamed for the emergence of a grey market in international incoming calls.”
— Kapil Bajaj
