{"id":241792,"date":"2023-05-10T20:22:38","date_gmt":"2023-05-10T14:52:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=241792"},"modified":"2023-05-10T20:22:38","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T14:52:38","slug":"controversial-calls-on-predatory-pricing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/controversial-calls-on-predatory-pricing\/","title":{"rendered":"Controversial calls on predatory pricing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Source<\/strong>: The post is based on an article\u00a0\u201c<\/strong>Controversial calls on predatory pricing<\/strong>\u201d published in Business Standard <\/strong>on\u00a010th<\/sup> May 2023<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Syllabus: GS 3 \u2013 Industrial Policy, Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p>\n

Relevance: <\/strong>problems with predatory pricing<\/p>\n

News<\/strong>: The article discusses concerns over predatory pricing<\/a> by telecom operators.<\/p>\n

What is the issue?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the last month, Bharti Airtel alleged that Reliance Jio was indulging in predatory pricing.<\/strong> The allegation was that Jio was offering live TV channels as part of its bundled broadband plan.<\/p>\n

However, Jio in a complaint to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) called Airtel\u2019s allegation baseless.<\/p>\n

Further, Vodafone Idea accused both Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel of predatory pricing in their 5G data offering.<\/strong> However, both Jio and Airtel have denied such allegations.<\/p>\n

Like these, there are multiple instances where one telecom operator has put charges against the other for involving in predatory pricing.<\/p>\n

How has TRAI responded?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

TRAI is keeping a closer look over telcos offering unlimited 5G data and it may lay down some rules on unlimited data.<\/p>\n

However, the regulator would not take actions that disrupt India\u2019s 5G growth due to various political reasons and due to India\u2019s G20 presidency this year.<\/p>\n

What are the concerns over predatory pricing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Predatory pricing was a major issue a few years back when Reliance Jio entered the market with its disruptive tariff plans<\/strong>. Its plan resulted in decreased subscriber base of other telcos, leading to losses.<\/p>\n

Airtel put allegation against Reliance Jio over predatory pricing<\/strong> back in 2017. However, its allegation was rejected by the Competition Commission of India (CCI).<\/p>\n

CCI said that Reliance Jio is not a dominant player in the market<\/strong> and therefore, its plans do not involve the question of predatory pricing.<\/p>\n

Moreover, today both Jio and Airtel are dominant players and both of them provide services like unlimited 5G data, live TV, etc., which may be a case of predatory pricing.<\/p>\n

However, as per experts, offering extras such as live TV, more data or unlimited data cannot be categorised under predatory pricing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Moreover, other than predatory pricing issue, concern remain over its regulation.<\/p>\n

What are the regulatory issues over predatory pricing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Supreme Court in the Bharti Airtel vs CCI in 2018 authorized TRAI as the regulator to settle any case on predatory pricing in telecom<\/strong>. However, the Telecom Bill, which is expected soon, will bring greater clarity on the matter.<\/p>\n

Moreover, any issue concerning predatory pricing should be first taken up by the TRAI and then any party can go to CCI for a follow-up.<\/p>\n

However, an expert panel in 2012, has recommended mandatory consultation between CCI and the regulator concerned<\/strong> to arrive at a harmonious solution over the issues concerning predatory prices.<\/p>\n

Therefore, a Telecom Bill that clarifies the regulating authority over predatory pricing is urgently needed.<\/p>\n

Must Read: <\/strong>Draft Telecommunication Bill, 2022 – Explained<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong> \"\" <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Source:<\/strong> Business Standard<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: The post is based on an article\u00a0\u201cControversial calls on predatory pricing\u201d published in Business Standard on\u00a010th May 2023. Syllabus: GS 3 \u2013 Industrial Policy, Infrastructure Relevance: problems with predatory pricing News: The article discusses concerns over predatory pricing by telecom operators. What is the issue? In the last month, Bharti Airtel alleged that Reliance… Continue reading Controversial calls on predatory pricing<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[10503,216],"class_list":["post-241792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-business-standard","tag-gs-paper-3","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=241792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/241792\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=241792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=241792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=241792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}