Airtel Subscribers to Pay 4 Times More for VoIP Call Co defends its move saying allowing VoIP call was untenable business proposition Airtel subscribers will have to shell out four times more to make a voice or a video call using services such as Skype and Viber on its mobile data network than browsing the internet, from January. The company on Friday announced its first voice over internet protocol (VoIP) call pack, priced at `. 75 for 75 MB. It translates to a maximum of 250 minutes of calling for ` . 75.An Airtel user using a 1GB data pack for 3G for ` . 249 in the NCR region could previously pay just . 18.75 for the same amount of ` calls made through VoIP platforms such as Skype and Viber. It goes against the principle of net neutrality whereby service providers treat all data on the internet equally and not impose differential pricing or discriminate between users, content sites, platforms and apps. Airtel defended its move saying allowing users to make voice calls through VoIP network was an “untenable“ business propo sition for the company. “Over the last 20 years, we have invested over ` . 140,000 crore....In addition, we have paid over . 50,000 crore in terms of govern` ment levies in just five years,“ the company said in a statement released on Friday. Hence, for it to be able constantly upgrade its networks and invest more on da ta network it needed to charge `separately for the VoIP services, it said. Arpita Pal Agrawal, telecom leader at PwC, agreed that telecom operators have been making heavy investments in their networks and need to find new ways to monetise data, but added that Airtels move goes against the principle of net neutrality . “Charging separately for VoIP calls does go against the nondiscriminatory principle of net neutrality as it singles out certain application providers from the others,“ she said. Recently, the Obama administration in the US backed net neutrality. Indian regulator Trai is examining the issue and is expected to issue a consultation paper on over-the-top players or apps that ride on telecom networks. Airtel said it was committed to making VoIP services extremely affordable and attractive by ensuring adequate minutes for a very small charge on VoIP, and that it will soon launch affordable VoIP plans for its post-paid customers. “There would be no other charges in respective of VoIP calls,“ it said. Also prepaid customers who purchased data plans before December 24 will be entitled to use all services opted-for till their packs are consumed or expire, the statement added. Airtels stock ended flat on the BSE on Friday at ` . 354.45.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Dec 2014 11:22:52 +0000
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