Free Incoming Calls Leads to Voice Traffic Surge

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) says that an initial study has shown that incoming call volumes to cell phones has jumped by 10% since CPP, or free incoming calls was introduced at the beginning of this month.

The COAI said that the cellular industry wholeheartedly welcomes the principles of the Interconnect User Charge (IUC) regime and the move to free incoming calls for consumers from May 1, 2003.

Speaking on this subject, Mr. T V Ramachandran, Director General COAI stated this measure was a historic step in India's liberalization process, as it would help to tap the real potential of telecom and lead to increased penetration of telecom services throughout the country.

He averred that this measure was long overdue especially for cellular consumers who were being uniquely disadvantaged by the regulatory regime to be the only subscribers to have to pay for incoming calls.

Mr. Ramachandran also opined that a uniform one-way payment regime for all telecom consumers would level the playing field between all competitive telecom services leading to fair competition and the orderly growth of the telecom sector.

The COAI said that it will monitor the situation for at least another two weeks before making a final judgment on the impact of the introduction of the CPP regime. There has been a corresponding increase in the cost of calling from a landline to a cell phone however, in line with most countries that have introduced CPP."

Posted to the site on 5th May 2003