Shourie apprises PM of telecom tariff issue

Communication minister Arun Shourie on Monday apprised Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee of latest developments in the telecom sector including tariff revision, the issue which rocked the Parliament last week.

According to sources, the rise in basic telecom tariffs like rates for making a call from basic phone to cellular phone, which have gone up six times in case of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, and reduction in number of free calls came up for discussion.

The meeting, which lasted for about an hour, was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, Finance Minister Jaswant Singh and BJP President Venkiah Naidu.

Shourie refused to say anything about the meeting, saying, "PM was wanting to know about the latest developments in the telecom sector and I have briefed him."

He said no decision like roll-back of tariffs announced by Trai on January 23 was taken.

Roll back of tariffs, however, was not expected as Trai has announced its decision to review the Interconnect User Charge regime which led to revision of telecom tariffs for all types of services including cellular, basic and WLL-based limited mobility services.

Shourie said the meeting with PM had a very limited purpose and it was not meant for taking any decision.

Last week when political parties including members of NDA coalition had raised the issue of rise in telecom tariffs including monthly rental and pulse rate, Shourie had clarified that both public-sector telecom companies - BSNL and MTNL - had not increased rental and reduced pulse rate.

Both the companies, however, reduced the free calls to 30 a month from 75.

Since the Trai will now review the IUC regime through a consultation process, all tariff issues including free incoming calls on mobile phones as a result of implementing Calling Party Pays regime may undergo a change partially or completely.