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Business ReviewOn 9 March 2009, after consultationw i t h t h e i n d u s t r y , t h eTelecommunications RegulatoryAuthority of India (TRAI) amendedits Interconnection Usage Charges(IUC) to effect changes in theinterconnection settlement regime.Accordingly, termination charges forincoming calls were reduced to INR0.20 per minute from INR0.30 perminute, whilst the terminationcharges for international incomingcalls increased from INR0.30 perminute to INR0.40 per minute.On the merger and acquisition front,DoT on 23 July 2009 tightenedconditions for the sale of equity bypromoters, by imposing a 3-yearlock-in period for the sale of equityfor those whose share capital is 10%or more, and whose net-worth hadbeen considered for Unified AccessService (UAS) licence eligibility.The Government also undertookearnest efforts to implement MNP.On 20 March 2009, DoT issued MNPoperator licences to two companies.They were required to provide MNPservices to mobile operators in eachLicenced Service Area (LSA) withinsix months in Metro and Category‘A’ service areas, and nationwidewithin one year. Nevertheless, dueto complexities surrounding the rolloutof MNP services, itsimplementation has been postponedseveral times. The Government hasnow set 30 June 2010 as the nexttarget rollout date.During the later part of the year,clarity relating to 3G and BroadbandWireless Access (BWA) spectrumauction processes emerged withDoT’s issuance in October 2009 of arevised Information Memorandum(IM). The revised IM summarised thesteps for pre-qualification andparticipation in the auction, rules andtimetable of the auction, andprovided background information onthe Indian telecommunicationsmarket and regulatory environment.This has since been followed by aNotice Inviting Applications (NIA) inearly 2010 underlining the auctionprocess in greater clarity.OUTLOOK FOR 2010The year 2010 may become a yearof consolidation rather than that ofhigh growth. Both margins and costswill be under pressure as newoperators have resorted to pricingas a method to enter the market,and gain market share. New growthareas will be in low ARPU areas andthe focus will be on customer service,branding and retention.A frontrunner in introducing revolutionary tariff plans,Idea has the distinction of offering the most customerfriendly and competitive Prepaid offerings, for the firsttime in India, in an increasingly segmented marketAnnual Report 2009 • 135