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Message: <blockquote data-quote="lkdood" data-source="post: 8015911" data-attributes="member: 92282">The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC), after the Supreme  Court rejected Airtel’s petition against new floor rates for all calls  of Rs 1 to 2 per minute, said it is gearing to implement a similar  scheme for the broadband facility which will see Internet rates decline.                       “The TRC is considering reducing the broadband  charges by implementing a maximum floor rate by December,” Anusha  Pelpita, Director-General TRC told the Business Times.   He said that  the future of telecommunication is data access and broadband rate  reduction will facilitate this by making Internet access more  affordable.                        Airtel sought an injuction against TRC saying  the floor price is against the interest of the consumer. But TRC says  this was done to protect the industry and stop the profit erosion at  telcom companies.  Telecom experts say TRC is not in the business of  safeguarding telcom firms’ profits. “We have to allow the market to  decide. Markets need to decide and competition allowed to happen.                        Markets should not be arbitrarily  constrained,” Rohan Samarajeeva, a former TRC Director-General, told the  Business Times.                          He said with the floor rate slapped on SIMs  purchased after July 15 when the rates became effective, the move would  create a black market for SIMs purchased before this date.                       “Old SIMs and old packages will be more  valuable than the new ones. The old ones will be having a better re-sale  value in a grey market,” he said, adding that it was baffling that the  rates didn’t apply to old SIMS.                        In response, Mr. Pelpita said that of the more  than 10 million pre-paid customers of mobile phones less than two  million are post-paid and there are only three tariff plans which are  below the floor rate such as Mobitel’s Upahara. “With regard to these,  the TRC will discuss with the industry and decide on what needs to be  done,” he said. Sundaytimes</blockquote>

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