The Access Deficit Charge has been a thorn in the side of telecom companies for a while now but the ADC is all set to go. The TRAI has said that the ADC will be phased out and telecom companies have in turn promised to pass on the benefit to their consumers.
Come April and telecom companies will be in for a Rs 800 crore bonanza and they'll pass on some or most of it to users which will mean cheaper calls over the next 12 months.
Earlier, operators were paying 0.75 per cent of their revenue. To cross subsidise BSNL's rural phone operations, this charge will go from April 1 and the one rupee charge on incoming international calls will be slashed to half which will be phased out after September.
“The operators of course are a happy lot and are promising to pass on the benefits to the consumers which could mean minor tariff cuts especially on calls coming in from abroad,” said Nripendra Misra, Chairman, TRAI.
Private telecom players have questioned the subsidy that state-owned BSNL got through the access deficit charge. But now they have no reason to complain.
However, BSNL will continue to get a fixed amount of Rs 2,000 crore every year for next three years from another source, the USO fund.