India min wants cut in mobile termination charges

NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - India's government wants a cut in the termination charges mobile phone companies pay each other for calls across networks, but operators must pass on the reduction by lowering charges, the telecoms minister said.

Termination charges are set and modified by an independent regulator, and the ministry's call is not binding.

"Termination charges can be reduced by 2010, accordingly tariffs can be reduced," Telecom Minister Andimuthu Raja told reporters on Tuesday after meeting heads and other senior officials of mobile operators.

Earlier this year, the regulator cut domestic termination charges by a third, allowing telecoms firms to make deeper cuts to already low call rates.

Indian mobile tariffs are as low as 1 U.S. cent a minute and many firms are now introducing per-second billing plans. (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by John Mair)