Mumbai High Court refuses to grant stay on IUC cut.

Private telecom operators Bharati Airtel and Idea Cellular have challenged the TRAI’s decision to cut down the Inter Connect Usage Charge (IUC) by 57%, in the Mumbai High Court. Recently, the TRAI has cut down the IUC from 60 paise to 14 paise. Airtel, Vodafone and Idea put together have 60% of the customer base. Hence, these companies will face a combined loss of Rs.5,000 crore per annum. Reliance Jio, the new comer will stand to gain most, due to the reduction of IUC. Hearing the argument of the petitioners, the Mumbai High Court refused to grant stay.