Summary:
Indian telecom operators, through COAI, have urged TRAI to separately review international termination charges (ITC) and increase the rate to at least Rs 5 per minute from the current 65 paise. They cited rupee depreciation and the significant difference between incoming and outgoing international call termination rates as key reasons for the proposed revision. Operators maintain that higher charges would not affect Indian consumers, as the payment is made by overseas carriers. They have also linked the existing low rates to fraudulent international calls, which contribute to financial scams, weaken consumer confidence and cause revenue losses for telecom companies and the government.
Indian telecom companies have called on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to conduct a separate consultation on revising international termination charges (ITC), proposing an increase to a minimum of Rs 5 per minute from the existing cap of 65 paise per minute. ITC refers to the amount an overseas telecom operator pays an Indian carrier when an international call ends on its network.
Represented by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the operators have stated that the rupee’s depreciation over the last year has adversely affected their earnings, since settlements with international carriers for ITC are made in US dollars. They believe revising the charges would help address the imbalance between the rates applicable to incoming and outgoing international calls.
At present, overseas telecom companies pay Indian operators between 35 paise and 65 paise per minute for incoming international calls terminating on domestic networks. Conversely, Indian carriers incur charges of Rs 3-3.5 per minute when calls made from their networks terminate on overseas networks. Industry representatives have drawn attention to this considerable gap, especially given that incoming international call traffic is substantially greater than outgoing traffic.
According to telecom operators, international termination charges should be treated independently of the broader termination charge structure that TRAI is currently examining. The regulator began consultations on the wider framework in November 2025, although its recommendations are still awaited. The previous ITC adjustment took place in 2020, replacing the earlier fixed rate of 30 paise per minute with the existing range of 35-65 paise.
The operators have also emphasised that increasing ITC would not translate into additional costs for Indian consumers, since subscribers receiving international calls are not charged for them. Instead, the payment obligation rests with the foreign operator originating the call or its intermediary.
Additionally, telecom companies have associated the low prevailing ITC rates with fraudulent international calls directed at Indian users. They argue that such calls fuel financial fraud, undermine consumer confidence and cause revenue losses for both domestic telecom operators and the government.
