India to ask users to pay extra for using Skype, Viber, Facebook messenger and Google hangouts

The Government will look into Airtel's plan to charge differential tariff for voice over internet protocol (VoIP) players who provide calling at normal data rates againstb the steep rates that operators charge. "We will look into it. Government will come back with structured response," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on the sidelines of 'Good Governance Day' event organised by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology.

Airtel had on Wednesday announced the higher tariff which came in as bad news for hundreds and thousands of people who use the popular internet services to make voice calls to family and friends abroad. It decided to charge them nearly 16 times more than the ordinary data pack charges. 

Other operators like Vodafone and Idea Cellular did not comment on the development.However, it is understood that they are yet to make any changes to their internet plans vis-a-vis VoIP players.

Industry officials said telecom operators have been "hit hard" by VoIP service providers, who have emerged as the main platform in terms of international calling. The loss of potential business is to the tune of billions of dollars and mobile operators have been seeking some sort of a levy on VoIP players, who ride on their network without paying any price.

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