Dot May Allow Calling Cards For Std, Isd; Tariffs Could Fall

[savramesh 37]

Domestic and international long-distance call charges are set to fall as the government may accept telecom regulator TRAI's recommendation to allow using calling-cards to provide the subscriber the option to choose his or her operator.

Introducing calling-cards for making STD and ISD calls is the best alternative to the carrier selection code (choice of operators) as this would save cost, which can be spent on upgrading the networks of existing operators.

Using calling-cards will increase competition in the long-distance segment and in turn will benefit over 370 million subscribers, telecom analysts said, adding this may bring down international calling-charges by up to 70 percent.

In its recommendations submitted last year, TRAI had said that considering implementation issues like estimating and sharing network setup/upgrade cost by long-distance operators, implementing Carrier Selection may not be justified in the present scenario and consumers will be better served if the cost is spent on developing next-generation telecom infrastructure.

The Department of Telecom (DoT) had constituted a committee of senior officials and those from its technical wing Telecom Engineering Consultant (TEC), and has forwarded its report to the Telecom Commission for approval.

The Telecom Commission is meeting in New Delhi on Monday to consider the report, sources said, adding the committee has recommended introducing long-distance calling-cards for subscribers to select carriers.

Long-distance calls will be allowed from both basic and mobile phones.

In India there are 23 domestic long-distance and 18 international long-distance service providers, who will benefit from the move.

The DoT committee has recognised that calling-cards issued by the STD/ISD operators offer customers the choice of making calls from any access network and yet have the calls routed through the network of their choice.

It also observed that out of three possible modes of carrier selection -- call-by-call section (CS), Carrier Pre-Selection (CPS) and calling-cards -- the first one offers the maximum flexibility and convenience to the consumer.

However, as the cost of introducing it is considered unjustified at present vis-a-vis the monetary benefits likely to accrue to the customer, the committee has recommended that the option of introducing the call-by-call carrier selection may considered at an appropriate time in future

Source: DDNews

[ravi_patent 28]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/N...how/4061388.cms

Telecom Commission, the decision-making body for telecommunications, will take a call on allowing unrestricted Internet

telephony

in the country on Monday.

Internet telephony will allow consumers to make STD calls as cheap as 10-40 paise per minute and also make free local calls from their computers. Most telcos are opposed to lifting curbs on net telephony as this will enable Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to challenge their dominance in the domestic communication market.

Last year, the industry regulator Trai had recommended that all curbs on Net telephony be removed. At present, a call from a computer could legally be made only to another computer within the country, and not to a phone. But the existing regime allows domestic users to make international calls to a phone from their computer.

Full-fledged Internet telephony will allow consumers to make calls from PCs or laptops to fixedline and mobile phones in India. They can also make a call to personal computers from their mobile handsets. If permitted, rural India will be the biggest beneficiary as users will be able to make ultra-cheap calls from PCOs using this technology. Besides, broadband growth is also likely to get a boost.

The Commission will also consider another recommendation of Trai where it had said that subscribers must be given the freedom to choose their carrier for making long-distance calls, whether domestic (STD) or international (ISD).

If permitted, this will usher in new competition in long-distance calls. This is how it will work. Suppose you are a Bharti Airtel subscriber, but you find that public sector telecom firm BSNL offers the cheapest long-distance tariffs.

You can buy a pre-paid long-distance package from BSNL for a particular time period. You then punch in a set of numbers specified in the package to get onto the BSNL network and make your calls. You can talk for as long as your pre-paid package permits.

Trai had also mandated that all telcos offer their customers the facility to purchase pre-paid long-distance packages or virtual calling cards on the Internet. Globally, long-distance tariffs have fallen 20-53% after customers were allowed to choose their operator.

[KumaarShah 143]

^^^

All operators and regulators have ben discussing on this issue since a very long time, neither this facility nor the CAC facility have been implemented. It is like the MNP and 3G which will never the light of the day in the next one or two years at least.

[ravi_patent 28]

probably they believes in killing the competion rather than beating it

[ravi_patent 28]

dear kumar

ur predictions have come true...DOT sends back the proposal to TRAI

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com//articleshow/4065689.cms?

The hope of calls as cheap as STD 10 paise for telecom subscribers in India

seems to be shattered as of now. The telecom

commission which met on Monday has

referred the issue back to Trai.

"There are lot of issues to be sorted out in the same. We are referring it back to Trai," Sidharth Behura, Telecom Secretary, Department of Telecom told ET.

Trai had last year recommended an unrestricted domestic telephony. Cellular mobile operators were lobbying for a rejection of the Trai recommendations as it will make calls dirt cheap and affect their business model. ISPAI said that the move by the government was anti consumers.

[KumaarShah 143]

^^^

The above is an entirely different matter. What has been referred to above is the routing of LD calls from a mobile via the internet.

What is mentioned in post #1 and 2 and also in my post is about using calling cards.

If permitted, this will usher in new competition in long-distance calls. This is how it will work. Suppose you are a Bharti Airtel subscriber, but you find that public sector telecom firm BSNL offers the cheapest long-distance tariffs.

In any case in our country, one authority refers to another, then the ministry will play the same game, then it will pass to the PMO, then to the president who will once again send it to the 1st authority and the ball game will re-start from scratch.... ref..3G, MNP, CAC, STD calls thro' internet etc...

[ravi_patent 28]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Teleco...how/4066599.cms

Here is consolation for all the million who were disappointed by the government's move not to lift curbs on internet

telephony.

Customers still have some reasons to cheer as the

Telecom Commission has permitted subscribers to choose the cheapest STD and ISD tariffs, irrespective of their service provider.

Currently, a subscriber can only avail the STD and ISD tariffs offered by his service provider and cannot access the rates offered by other companies. Globally, long-distance tariffs have fallen 20-53% after customers were allowed to choose their operator.

Subscribers now have the freedom to choose their carrier for making long-distance calls, whether domestic (STD) or international (ISD) as they can buy calling cards from the operator who provides the lowest tariffs. This will usher in new competition in long-distance calls. More importantly, the move will also challenge the dominance of all existing telecom operators as it will allow all players who carry long distance calls to sell the consumers.

This implies, companies like RailTel, Powergrid, Tulip IT services and foreign operators such as British Telecom, AT&T, Verizon, France Telecom and Cable & Wireless can all sell their long distance tariffs directly to customers.

This is how the concept of calling cards will work. Suppose you are a Bharti Airtel subscriber, but you find that BSNL or Reliance Communications (RCOM) offers the cheapest long-distance tariffs.

You can buy a pre-paid long distance package from BSNL or RCOM for a particular time period. You then punch in a set of numbers specified in the package to get onto the BSNL or RCOM network and make your calls. You can talk for as long as your pre-paid package permits. Similarly, a Bharti or a Vodafone customer can also buy calling cards from companies such as Powergrid, Tulip IT and Idea cellular amongst others.

There is more choice in the offing -- you can now buy long distance calling cards from all players who offer these services including foreign operators such as such as British Telecom, AT&T, Verizon, France Telecom and Cable & Wireless. Therefore, if an AT&T were to offer you a rates at say Rs 2 per minute to the US. compared to the average rate of Rs 6-9 per minute at present), you can junk your operators and use the American telco's services.

dear kumaar

u r correct..i have missed the point

Edited February 3, 2009 by ravi_patent

[savramesh 37]

Panel okays ISD, STD card option to users, tariffs to fall

The Department of Telecom is believed to have allowed sale of 'calling cards' for making domestic and international calls from any phone - a move that could bring tariffs down.

Calling card allows users to select an operator for making STD and ISD calls as recommended by telecom regulator TRAI in August last year.

The Telecom Commission, the policy wing of DoT, is understood to have referred back another proposal for unrestricted Internet Telephony back to the regulator for more clarifications.

Full Internet Telephony would have allowed consumers to even use their laptop or PC to make long distance calls, significantly lowering call rates.

Mobile operators were lobbying for a rejection of the TRAI proposal in this regard, anticipating adverse impact on their businesses.

A senior DoT official said the matter was referred to TRAI seeking more clarity on a number of issues. TRAI had earlier recommended unrestricted domestic telephony.

ISPAI, the body for Internet Service Providers, said that the move by the government was "anti-consumer."

At present, a call from a computer could legally be made only to another computer within the country, and not to a phone.

But the existing regime allows domestic users to make international calls to a phone from their computer.

Source DD news

[KumaarShah 143]

Now lets see when the telcos and the cellcos come out with open calling cards.....I presume that they will delay things....But one never knows, in this country anything is possible after all...

[ravi_patent 28]

dear kumaar

i belive that now every body tries snatch as much as possible of the NLD/ILD market,otherwise they would have nipped this propsal in the bud itself just as happened in the case of net telephony.therefore i expect this to be launched soon..if not bsnl becoz of the inherent functioniong airtel,tata and rcom will try ,and the one having latest technology for such interoperator operable calling cards will be the first one plausibly Airtel(ericsson manages the network),followed by rcom .

probably foreign operators will snatch Ild market

[vvinayakpai 26]

By when will the open calling cards be introduced in the market? ANy information?

[KumaarShah 143]

^^^

Keep waiting as usual....maybe in 2010,2011,2012, or 2020.

[vvinayakpai 26]

Moderators, please merge these two topics

http://www.rimweb.in/forums/index.php?showtopic=20747&pid=157249&st=0entry157249

[abkumar 11]

Same story as 3G ...........Wait till 2-3 years or more.........