No more ADC says TRAI

It has been found that India is the fastest growing mobile market in the world. It has also been predicted that India is all set to become the second largest mobile market by 2010.Is it possible to reach this milestone much earlier? From April 1^st next month its happy days for all the mobile consumers in India. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has decided to completely phase out Access Deficit charge (ADC), thus paving the way for lower tariffs and cheaper calls. ADC is a levy paid by private players like Airtel, Vodafone etc to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for offering services in rural areas. It exists in two parts: domestic service providers pay 0.75 percent of their adjusted gross revenue (AGR), while international long distance (ILD) service providers pay Re 1 per minute on international incoming calls. With the latest announcement, no ADC will be charged on domestic calls, while international incoming calls will be charged at 50 paise per call, which is 50 percent less. This is also expected to completely phased out after September 30.Private players which have been demanding the removal of ADC since last year have welcomed this TRAI directive. Meanwhile the private players Airtel, Vodafone, Tata etc are expected to announce new reduced tariffs within a few weeks time.