The Hindu Business Line : BSNL, MTNL, RCom cut roaming tariff

New Delhi June 1 State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam on Friday upped the ante in the ongoing tariff war in the telecom sector by introducing new plans, which will allow their mobile users to get roaming charges of only Re 1 per minute compared to Rs 2.40 per minute in existing tariff plans. In response, Reliance Communications launched two new plans, which further intensified the battle.

Subscribers availing BSNL's scheme will get free incoming calls for 300 minutes a month but will have to pay a monthly rental of Rs 550. Outgoing calls within BSNL's network will cost only 40 paise a minute.

All other outgoing calls and incoming calls beyond 300 minutes will be charged at Re 1 a minute. MTNL will ride on BSNL's nationwide network to offer similar tariffs to its subscribers in Delhi and Mumbai. STD rates for outgoing calls will be Re 1 per minute, which will add up to the roaming charge every time you make an STD call while roaming.

Free roaming scheme

While existing mobile subscribers of the two PSUs can shift to the new scheme without paying any additional charges, new subscribers will have to pay a one time activation and registration charge of Rs 700. The tariff is, however, far short of the free roaming scheme earlier indicated by the former Communication and IT Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran.

The new Communications and IT Minister, Mr Andimuthu Raja, said, "With due respect to my predecessor there was no exercise undertaken to completely remove roaming charges. This is just the initial step. Going forward I am sure roaming charges will come down further. I hope private operators will follow suit and announce similar reductions."

Mr S.K. Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL said that the scheme will not have any revenue implications for the company as the volumes are expected to increase by 20-25 per cent.

Reliance's new roaming plan offers 200 free incoming minutes and outgoing calls at Re 1 for a monthly rental of Rs 390. Another plan with a rental of Rs 990, offers 1,300 minutes of free talk time, including 400 minutes of local calling.

This is the second round of tariff cut in the roaming segment after the telecom regulator had brought down the upper limit by 56 per cent in February. Indicom introduced Business Gold 349, offering 500 minutes of free incoming roaming and local calls as low as 10 paise per minute within Tata's own network even while roaming. This is clearly the best roaming plan available in the market today," said Mr Vinayak Deshpande, President of Tata Teleservices' Enterprise and High Net Worth Individual Business Unit.

More Stories on : Telecommunications | Promotions & Offers

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
`Low' forms, tipped to intensify into depression

BSNL, MTNL, RCom cut roaming tariff

RCom, BSNL drop international long distance calling rates

Paramount may pick up stake in existing airline

Cement import norms eased

Inflation rate falls as prices of food items ease

Mayawati scraps sugar policy

Tata Tea buys 24% stake in Mount Everest for Rs 110 cr

Teleradiology outsourcing... the new buzzword

Move to scrap wheat tender raises uneasy questions

Glenmark: Betting on product

Thirty-one new stocks in F&O segment sizzle

Retail, media, FMCG score highest in labour index

Govt, IRDA get tough with foreign insurance cos

GSM operators challenge Government on spectrum issues

Exports grow 23.6% in April, imports 40.69%