Mobile tariffs may double,warn telcos

Mobile call rates would double in some circles if the recommendations of sectoral regulator Trai on spectrum pricing are accepted,telecom CEOs who met Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal warned today.

8230;there will be circles which will have more than a 100 per cent price rise in tariffs if they were to absorb the impact of what is being recommended, Bharti Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor told reporters.

In one circle,the cost of spectrum,the reserve price is Rs 7 crore and on other end,there are metros where it is Rs 717 crore,which is a 100 times differential, he said.

The chiefs of Bharti Airtel,Vodafone India,Idea Cellular,Uninor and Videocon met Sibal and Department of Telecom Secretary R Chandrashekhar to discuss the implications of Trai recommendations.