A decision by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to drop a levy should see telecoms subscribers, including mobile, benefit from lower call charges. The TRAI has stated that it plans to abolish the access deficit charge (ADC) that private operators pay to government-owned BSNL to compensate it for the losses it makes by offering services in rural areas at subsidised rates.

Following this move by the TRAI, India’s largest mobile operator, Bharti Airtel, said that it was committed to passing on the benefits of ADC relief to its customers primarily in the rural areas as desired by TRAI. According to a report carried by Reuters, Vodafone Essar also stated that the company was committed to passing on the benefit to its customers in an equitable manner.

The TRAI said it would abolish the ADC as a percentage of revenue share from April 1 and halve the charge on international calls before abolishing it in October.
“ADC puts unfair burden on new entrants and distorts market conditions,” the regulator said in a statement. “It is also a source of arbitrage and thereby results in grey market operations in international calls.”