Govt to refer issue of tariff hike to TRAI

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday said it would refer to TRAI the issue of recent tariff hike by mobile operators and would take a decision only after knowing the regulator's opinion.

"SMS is a mode of tariff. Definitely tariff is in the control of ministry. Let TRAI decide on it first," Telecom Minister A Raja said today on the sideline of a function organised by Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association.

When contacted on the matter, TRAI Chairman Nripendra Misra said, "There has been no reference from DoT to look into the matter so far. I would have to get a communication from them first to be able to say anything on the matter."

Earlier, the regulator had cited the market forces as a cause for the hike in SMS and local call charges by Airtel and Vodafone Essar.

The GSM operators earlier this month hiked SMS charges by a flat 20 per cent to Rs 1.20 per message and local call charges within their network by 20 per cent to Rs 1.20 per minute from Re 1 for prepaid customers.

Just prior to that, majority of private GSM players hiked STD tariffs by over 10 per cent for prepaid users.

"Mobile tariffs fall under forbearance (whereby the operators have freedom to fix tariffs)... Although the recent hike in tariffs of SMS and local calls is not a consumer-friendly measure, there is no scope for intervention as long as there is forbearance," Misra had said.