The Hindu : Consumers plan agitation against phone tariff hike

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 11, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram

Consumers plan agitation against phone tariff hike

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM May 10. The All Kerala Telephone Consumers' Action Council has denounced the Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for its `pro-rich, anti-consumer' stance. It has also decided to organise a State-wide agitation against the hike in telephone tariffs.

Now that the ball is in the Prime Minister's court, the council will send one lakh letters by consumers to the Prime Minister, urging him not to let TRAI squeeze the common man, it was decided at a meeting of the council here on Saturday.

Addressing the meeting, the president of the council, Mathew Paul, said the current tariff revisions were beneficial to high-users of telephone and business people, while it adversely affected the common man.

Telephone was no longer a luxury, but a basic communication facility. While welcoming the move to provide incentives to high-users, he said that those for whom telephone was a necessity should not be taxed. The reduction in the number of free calls was a big blow to low-use subscribers, who cannot afford to pay high bills, he said.

Last time when telephone tariffs were hiked in 1998, it was claimed that the hike was required for the infrastructure development for extending communication facilities. Now technology and infrastructure had advanced so much that the price of the equipment had come down. Getting a phone connection was an easy task, as ample cable-laying work has been done well in advance.

Hence, BSNL's claim of recurring expenditure on maintenance of land phones was not true, Mr. Paul alleged. Through the present tariff hike, BSNL was seeking a disproportionate recovery from consumers for their infrastructure development, he alleged.

Consumers who took part in the meeting pointed out that BSNL had gone about making a lot of noise about the improved communication facilities, customer service programmes and cheap mobile rates, that in the new scenario, all those who took new BSNL mobiles were now being made to look like fools.

Mr. Paul said the Interconnect User Charge (IUC) regime brought in by TRAI was intended only to help private mobile operators increase their base. Since all cell phone users had a land phone, the high land to mobile tariff would affect all classes of consumers, he said.

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