To
Shri A K Lahoti
Chairman
TRAI
Dear Shri Lahoti,
Please refer to my letter of 7th July 2024 on tariff hikes announced by the two telecom companies, Airtel and Reliance Jio and the necessity of regulating their tariffs, considering that they unduly dominate the mobile service sector, having received a huge largesse from the Dept of Telecommunications (DOT) earlier in terms of 5G spectrum allotment through a near non-competitive route of sale (https://countercurrents.org/2024/07/trai-must-regulate-telecom-tariff/)
As an Airtel customer, I received the following SMS message from the company:”Dear Customer, The price of your Airtel Postpaid plan, as a part of your Airtel Black connection, has been revised from Rs.499 To Rs.599. Your Airtel Black rental will undergo a revision by Rs.100 which will reflect in your upcoming bill, effective from 9-Aug’24“It is evident that such a unilateral increase in tariff, without any special effort on the part of the company to provide additional services or any improvement in the quality of service, amounts to a 20% increase of Rs 100 over Rs 500 per month.
The two companies together have a mobile customer base of 837 million and, if each customer were to pay Rs 100 per month extra, the additional revenue which straightaway adds to their profit would work out to Rs 8,370 Crores per month or Rs 1,00,000 Crores per year. Should not TRAI raise its voice, when monopolistic players fleece customers like this? Nowhere else in the world would customers be allowed to be fleeced like that!
The government has driven millions of poor families into the waiting hands of these companies in the guise of providing basic amenities, which suggests something highly questionable is happening, calling for an independent investigation. it is strange that DOT, instead of upholding customers’ interest, should stand on the side of the companies!
If TRAI keeps silent, then what would be its role?
Yours sincerely,
E A S Sarma
Former Secretary to the Government of India
Visakhapatnam
