The Hindu : Incoming calls on cell phones free from today

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 01, 2003

National

National

Incoming calls on cell phones free from today

By Sandeep Dikshit

NEW DELHI APRIL 30. All incoming calls on cellular phones will be free from tomorrow irrespective of whether they are from another cellphone or from landline. And, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will begin rewarding its high usage fixed line customers for the first time by offering alternate tariff packages that entail higher rentals but many more free calls and lower local call rates.

The re-calibration of phone charges marks India's move towards market-driven telecom charges watched over by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to guard against discriminatory practices. The TRAI has specified certain standard rates and, subject to certain conditions, all phone companies would be free to better the prescribed rates.

However, the multitudinous tariff rates are bound to confuse existing subscribers of MTNL and BSNL used to tariffs based on exchange capacity. Thus, while tariffs differed from city to city they remained the same within an exchange area. Now, there will be different rental and call rate packages depending on the usage pattern; varying pulse rates for calls from basic to basic, basic to limited mobility, basic to cell; and separate pulse rates for inter-circle and intra-circle calls. It is expected that in due course the basic phone users will gradually get used to the different tariff rates and opt for a package that suits them best. While retaining its existing tariff plans (but with fewer free calls), BSNL has come out with several optional tariff plans for rural and urban areas aimed at retaining high users in its fold. At the same time, fixed line users will have to pay much higher charges for calling cellular and limited mobility subscribers. The basic-to-basic pulse will be 180 seconds but the basic to limited mobile and basic to cell pulse rates will be much less.

On the STD front, a marketing war among phone companies has preceded the TRAI rates. As a result, the rates are already low but a further reduction is in the offing.

Reliance Infocomm, aiming to match BSNL in subscriber muscle, has also declared that it will begin billing its customers from tomorrow. It has announced new tariff packages including a scheme in which no post-dated cheques are required. Existing customers would be allowed to migrate to other offers.

The new tariff regime will come into effect after the TRAI approved new settlement rates (called interconnect user charges, IUC) among phone companies. The TRAI's unpreparedness was evident from the fact that it made an appeal to companies whose tariff plans have not been cleared to voluntarily withdraw packages deemed discriminatory or predatory. The Authority has been unable to implement a durable settlement mechanism among companies for the IUC regime and was forced to revise the definition of rural areas following political disapproval.

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