Chirag 5 Report post Posted January 20, 2005 Bharti cuts ISD, STD rates January 20, 2005 19:22 IST Rediff.com Initiating a fresh round of price war, Bharti, offering telecom services under the AirTel brand, on Thursday reduced long distance mobile tariffs by upto Rs 1.75 per minute for ISD and 35 paise for STD calls. The company lowered the rates following Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's new levy regime, which reduced the access deficit charge paid by private operators to PSUs. The new rates will come into effect from February 1, the company said in a statement in New Delhi. More than one crore (10 million) Airtel customers would benefit from the cut. The tariffs announced are radically lower than the existing rates and hence would further drive penetration of mobile telephony in the country. ISD tariffs have been reduced by Rs 1.75/min and STD tariffs have been reduced by Rs 0.35/min on the current tariffs based on simple average ADC reduction of Rs 0.20/- for calls between 50- 200 kms and Rs 0.50 /min for calls >200 kms. Announcing the new tariffs, Manoj Kohli, president (mobility), Bharti Tele-Ventures, said, "Airtel has once again taken the lead in announcing reduction in mobile tariffs for its customers across the country. The benefits extended are in keeping with our commitment to pass on the benefits of reduction in ADC, directly to our customers. "The tariffs announced are simple, innovative and provide the best value for money to our customers. This we believe will fuel new acquisitions and also spur usage increase. What's more, Airtel customers will continue to enjoy special Airtel to Airtel STD Tariffs at Rs 2/- min." Bharti Tele-Ventures is one of India's leading private sector provider of tele-communications services with an aggregate of 10.63 million customers as of end of December '04, consisting of approximately 9.83 million mobile customers. The company today offers mobile services in 21 out of 23 circles in India. The company also provides fixed - line services and Internet access over DSL in 6 circles. The company also has a submarine cable landing station at Chennai, which connects the submarine cable connecting Chennai and Singapore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arun 795 Report post Posted January 21, 2005 I hope Reliance will follow up soon ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ashokjp 15 Report post Posted January 21, 2005 At present, Reliance call rates are better than airtel.. After another reduction, it would jus be 22 good!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arun 795 Report post Posted January 21, 2005 AirTel has reduced the rates after TRAI's decision to discontinue ADC by the private operators. AirTel (Bharti) has announced the regime first (even though it will start from Feb 1st only). So Reliance will also surely reduce the tariff as per the new regime, before February 1st ofcourse ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ashokjp 15 Report post Posted January 21, 2005 Hutch, Airtel slash STD, ISD rates Source: TIMES NEWS NETWORK { THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2005 10:02:44 PM } Sign into earnIndiatimes points NEW DELHI: Cellular operators Airtel and Hutch have decided to slash STD and ISD rates by 35 paise and Rs 1.75, respectively, from February 1. For now, their STD rates are about Rs 3-3.25 a minute and ISD rates range from Rs 16 (to US, Europe) to Rs 20 (to the Gulf). When the rate cuts take effect, you'll pay Rs 2.65-2.90 for STD and Rs 14.25-18.25 a minute for ISD. The reductions follow telecom regulator Trai's move to lower ADC (access deficit charge) earlier this month. ADC is paid by mobile operators to state-owned telecom company BSNL for providing phone connections at low monthly rentals and local call charges for making telephony affordable for the masses. The announcements come amid protests by BSNL against Trai's move. BSNL gets Rs 5,000 crore a year from ADC. While BSNL will continue to receive that amount despite per minute ADC rate cuts (because the fast growing cellular subscriber base will make up for it), it has said reduction in ADC rates will make it lose money, which could lead to hike in rentals and call rates, especially in rural areas. Meanwhile, MTNL, the other state-owned company that operates in Delhi and Mumbai, moved telecom tribunal TDSAT on Thursday against Trai's decision to disqualify it from receiving ADC. For the past year and until next month, MTNL is estimated to receive about Rs 400 crore in ADC. From February 1, it will not get that amount. Besides, as a cellular operator (Dolphin), it also has to pay ADC to BSNL. "We have moved TDSAT and the hearing will be on January 24," said MTNL CMD RSP Sinha. He said despite the Airtel/Hutch rate cuts, MTNL will continue to be cheaper. Dolphin's STD rate is Rs 2.40 (Rs 1.90 between Delhi and Mumbai), and ISD rate Rs 12 (to US, Europe) and Rs 15 (to West Asia). In another development, TDSAT has said Reliance need not pay penalty to DoT (department of telecom) till the next hearing on February 8. DoT has slapped Rs 150 crore fine on Reliance for violating licensing conditions by bringing in ISD calls to India but passing them on as local/STD calls (by tampering with CLI) to evade paying higher charges to BSNL. Reliance has already paid over Rs 200 crore to BSNL/MTNL but is fighting against the DoT penalty. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
