TRAI may ask for money for allotment of new numbers, but who will pay this fee? Telecom operator or customer?
A few days ago we reported that the 'Telecom Regulatory Authority of India' (TRAI) is planning to bring major changes to the 'National Numbering Plan'. In fact, the number of mobile subscribers is increasing continuously along with the population growth in India. As a result, this step may be taken to properly manage mobile number and connectivity allocation. Meanwhile, it has now been reported that TRAI is considering charging telecom operators in the country for allocating new series of phone numbers. They said that penalties may be imposed on operators who try to unduly retain or underutilize mobile numbers.
TRAI may charge fees for allotment of telephone numbers
In this regard TRAI commented that more stringent guidelines may need to be issued to ensure effective and fair use of the new series of numbers allotted to them by telecom service providers. In this case, charging a fee while allocating phone numbers will force companies to use the new numbers released in limited numbers appropriately. Again, under-utilization of phone numbers due to charges may also introduce penalties.
Like Spectrum, the National Number Agency will also be run under the Central Government. In this regard the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) can play an important role in allocating mobile numbers on behalf of the government. Please note that mobile operators are given the right to use a series of numbers till the validity of the license After which the license has to be renewed again. This entire work is under the supervision of DoT.
How will telecom operators be charged for new phone numbers?
If TRAI's proposal is implemented, there are two ways the Indian government can charge telecom operators, namely –
- A one-time fee may be charged for each phone number.
- Annual charging cycles may be introduced.
TRAI also said that only telecom operators will be charged for allotment of new series of numbers. But companies may end up passing on the burden of paying this extra money to consumers. In simpler terms, telecom companies can recover the cost of numbers from roaming customers.
