New Delhi: Shares of telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular plunged up to 7.4 percent on Wednesday after Trai reduced mobile interconnection charges by more than half to 6 paise a minute.


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The scrip of Idea Cellular tumbled 7.4 percent to Rs 76.85, Bharti Airtel tanked 6.25 percent to Rs 370, Reliance Communications dipped 4.21 percent to Rs 19.30 and Tata Tele lost 2.53 percent to Rs 6.15 on BSE.


Shares of RIL, however, gained 3.82 percent to Rs 872.10 -- its 52-week high.


Telecom regulator Trai yesterday announced slashing of mobile call connection charge by more than half to 6 paise a minute and said no rate will apply from January 1, 2020, a move that may benefit newcomer Reliance Jio.


Mobile companies currently charge 14 paise a minute for allowing a domestic call from a rival operator to terminate on their network. This charge, called Interconnection Usage Charge or IUC, will be 6 paise per minute from October 1, 2017, Trai said in a statement.


Established telecom operators have argued that every call on the network has a cost, and expenses of an incoming call on their network should be borne by the operator from whose network the call has originated.