Roaming Charges May Go Soon!

[chitshar 25]

I saw on cnbc today that government is considering merging of 22 circles into one to stop roaming charges. On further serch i also found this article with economic times. If it is done then it will be a very good thing for us consumers.

source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/telecom/Tough-call-Roaming-charges-within-India-may-go-soon/articleshow/6744663.cms

[thilak.kmb 19]

I saw on cnbc today that government is considering merging of 22 circles into one to stop roaming charges. On further serch i also found this article with economic times. If it is done then it will be a very good thing for us consumers.

source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/telecom/Tough-call-Roaming-charges-within-India-may-go-soon/articleshow/6744663.cms

A very good initiative. What is the situation in other large countries like US? Do they have roaming?

[srk006 21]

It would be a very good move. After all we are ONE INDIA.

[Karthik R 246]

This move has got major implications! As the whole country will now be effectively transformed into a single circle, you dont need to change the no. when you move from one state to other. You can use a Delhi no. in Kerala without fearing bulged bills and as such will be stiffly opposed by all operators Roaming is a significant source of income for those who have national presence and network in all the circles, read incumbents.

[nayasaroj 14]

it will be nice.number shortage problem will be solved.if someone changes the state take a new connection for that state.another thing people will talk in roaming as home network.how revenue will decrease.due to roaming people talking less

[Mufaddal 678]

This concept of STD calling shouldnt be there in first place

Look at other countries like USA they have simple concept of local and long distance calls

entire country is considered local

[city02 63]

A very good initiative. What is the situation in other large countries like US? Do they have roaming?

this is probably the only case apart from healthcare costs that places like the US or China are worse off than India.

Not only do they pay for roaming but also about $0.10 - 0.20 / min for incoming which is upto Rs. 10/min for simple incoming calls [airtime usage].

Some plans offer unlimited incoming on nights or weekends but you have to spend about $25-50/month as a minimum to get the benefit.

We are truly world class in telecom rates as opposed to other areas that we THINK we are up to the mark...

However, in a free market the regulator should not be imposing tariffs on any operators but transparency and customer empowerment should be the focus instead.

Else it becomes like the bad old days of license raj and more corruption as vested interests try to direct govt policies.

Ideally free roaming incoming should be introduced as a good first step.

[city02 63]

This concept of STD calling shouldnt be there in first place

Look at other countries like USA they have simple concept of local and long distance calls

entire country is considered local

That's not correct.

In the US all calls within the same area code [3 digit prefix] are considered local and the rest are long distance which is identical to our STD.

There are some notable exceptions like NYC, Atlanta, etc that have multiple area codes in the same local area since they ran out of numbers in the 1st code and had to expand.

Probably the top dozen most populous metros have multiple area codes in the local calling area since their mobile and landlines have the same numbering format so you can't tell just by looking at a number if its from a mobile or not unlike here.

For these metros you will have to dial the entire 10 digit number for all local calls but to call another city or state you have to prefix '1' for long distance while international requires a '00' prefix for decades now.

The rest of the cities with a single area code only require the last 7 digits to call any local number.

The entire country is only consider 'local' for specific tariff plans and is a promotional tool not a standard.

[ananth001 21]

Once MDA enters the scene, he's gonna make voice completely free .... lol

[ashoksoft 83]

Check out UK for that bit ... Whole of UK / Ireland (excl N. Ireland) / Scottish isles is considered Local

and incoming is free too mate lets look at equals

[me_saket 73]

Compare size of UK with india.

so india can't go for ONE circle.

Problem of chaging number with ching state can be handsled with MNP.

no need to chage circle composition

[pasumark 51]

Lets dream.

One day it may materialize

[iammanuarora 1]

seen same article in todays TOI also...

[raccoon 53]

If this move results in any increase in local calls, then it will be very bad for users like me who make 90% local calls and don't roam much. 

[Karthik R 246]

true! In my case it is about a week for every two months. So roaming charges is not a big deal.

[Honest 836]

But for Roamers this change can bring a BOOM.

BTW from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, it should be considered one circle. ONE INDIA.

[vishal28 0]

Charges can only be cut down for interconnect call between same operator across country, like the R2R pack etc.

Vodafone, airtel, etc fleece us as far as roaming charges are concerned.

[kshah 452]

And cdma guys fleece us with data charges and reliance with its unique ripping charges called NUC.

[KanagaDeepan 1,084]

But for Roamers this change can bring a BOOM.

Sorry Kamal bhai, I beg to differ here.. Removal of roaming charges will be SOMETHING LIKE A BOON for customers of NON-Dual_Technology operators (Airtel/Voda/Idea/Aircel/MTS) only imho.. Because they are the ones who are now charging ridiculously high for roaming usage comparing home..

For example, the simple plans (50p Local/STD/roaming) after removal of roaming will be NOT much different, except FREE incoming calls in roaming.. Most serious roamers use either RCom or BSNL or Tata only, imho..

I usually spend 144 days/year (12 days a month) in roaming... Even now, I am enjoying FREE roaming SMS, FREE roaming incoming, (FREE ROAMING OUTGOING TOO), Uniform call rate.. For me removal of roaming is JUST ONE THING, "I NEED NOT GIVE MISSED CALL TO MY CUG MEMBERS and continue to call them FREE from any state"..

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Further I dont think that removal of roaming is NOT a simple thing, due to following reasons..

1) In some circles like NE, Assam, Kashmir Prepaid users are NOT allowed to roam and if India has became ONE SINGLE BIG CIRCLE, then that restriction can't be placed..

2) NOT all operators have got PAN-INDIA LICENSE & even few who have got license, still DIDN'T got any START-UP spectrum (Eg: Docomo in Delhi) to start service.

3) MOST IMPORTANT HURDLE is Raja being the current Telecom minister, who has neither the courage to take BOLD decisions nor the heart to help fellow Indians.. He has a VERY VERY VERY big stomach, and BADDIES have enough money to fill it, to avoid bringing this nice scheme..

[vvinayakpai 26]

I am not too aware about the technicalities but this is a thought that flashed my mind!!!!!!!

Assuming that they divide India into One single circle. Then does it mean that there will be no restriction on using spectrum of one state in the other? For eg. As we all know there is a scarcity of spectrum in Delhi circle. So if an operator is also providing services in Rajasthan and if there is abundant spectrum available there he may be able to transfer the same to Delhi for providing seamless connectity. Then I am sure that network congestions would be a thing of the past.

But for all this I am sure a lot of paper work has to be done. The Mergers and Acquisition Policy has to be reworked, liccenses would have to be amended etc. Let us keep our fingers crossed and hope that this would see the light of the day at the earliest.And this would definitely not be a reality without strong opposition from all telecom operators!!!!!!!!

[prafull4u 24]

If this really happens, Then get ready for a tariff hike sooner or later already the telecom industry industry is going through a difficult time and this change will surely hit their Revenue....

[raccoon 53]

I am not too aware about the technicalities but this is a thought that flashed my mind!!!!!!!

Assuming that they divide India into One single circle. Then does it mean that there will be no restriction on using spectrum of one state in the other? For eg. As we all know there is a scarcity of spectrum in Delhi circle. So if an operator is also providing services in Rajasthan and if there is abundant spectrum available there he may be able to transfer the same to Delhi for providing seamless connectity. Then I am sure that network congestions would be a thing of the past.

But for all  this I am sure a lot of paper work has to be done. The Mergers and Acquisition Policy has to be reworked, liccenses would have to be amended etc. Let us keep our fingers crossed and hope that this would see the light of the day at the earliest.And this would definitely not be a reality without strong opposition from all telecom operators!!!!!!!!

How on earth can you "transfer" spectrum like that?? Unfortunately, you can't pack it in a bag and take it to Delhi.  

If this really happens, Then get ready for a tariff hike sooner or later already the telecom industry industry is going through a difficult time and this change will surely hit their Revenue....

Thats what I'm scared of. If that is what will happen, then it will mean higher expenses for subscribers like me.  

[Karthik R 246]

think about it - all India uniform, say 80p/min. No roaming charges! If at all this idea is put into action then the call rates will be revised up to around 1re/min to weather the impact.

[raccoon 53]

 Nightmare!     Don't fantasize about such morbid things. I'm happy with my 30 p/min tariff. 

[Harshal 11]

This does not make any sense. Only a few months back they have sold separate 3G and BWA licenses for the 22 circles. If this was the intent then only pan India licenses should have been auctioned at least for 3G.

Complete lack of strategy by GOI. Not that we should expect anything different.