Telco offers cost govt Rs 800cr, review them: Ministry to TRAI

Requesting the regulator to 'review' such tariff offers, Deepak's missive which is addressed to Chairman RS Sharma, highlighted the larger woes that are plaguing the telecom sector.

New entrant Reliance Jio’s promotional offers have made incumbents Bharti Airtel and Vodafone play catch-up with similar undercutting in tariffs. Airtel logged a drop of 55 percent drop in profits while Idea reported a loss for the first time since 2007.

The letter mentions that the government revenues from licence fee fell from Rs 3,975 crore in the June quarter to Rs 3186 crore in the December quarter of this fiscal year.

Earlier, TRAI’s diktat of June 2002 and September 2008 had clearly mentioned that promotional tariffs can be up to a maximum of only 90 days. Over and above this stipulated period, no promotional tariffs could be allowed. Deepak's letter made a reference to this past ruling, urging the regulator to stick to its word in letter and spirit, reports the newspaper.

(Disclosure: RIL, which owns Reliance Jio, also owns Network18 and moneycontrol.com).