The exchequer is losing Rs 4,000-5,000 crore annually by allowing foreign telecom operators to terminate incoming international calls at nominal rates in India, BSNL has told regulator TRAI.In response to a consultation paper on Interconnection charges by TRAI, BSNL has suggested an immediate review of termination charges to bring parity between Indian and foreign players."The present regulatory regime in India has resulted in drastic reduction in revenue from incoming international calls whereas there is significant increase in the outflow of revenue to other countries, as foreign telecom operators have not reduced their termination charges because of. protective regulatory regime in their countries," BSNL said.This has not only adversely affected the financial viability of telecom service providers in India, but deprived the country of valuable foreign exchange to the tune of Rs 4,000-5,000 crore per annum, it added.BSNL also said that "this can also be used to moderate the termination charges for domestic calls for the benefit of Indian consumers."Currently, for incoming international calls the termination charges are only 30 paise per minute, whereas Indian operators pay a weighted average charge of about Rs 3 per minute for termination of their calls abroad.The charge is paid by the service provider from whose network the call originates to the service provider on whose network the call ends.
