Arun 795 Report post Posted May 21, 2005 New Delhi, May. 21, 2005 - Press Trust of India : In a major benefit to consumers in four States, the Government today made calls between Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu, Kolkata and the rest of West Bengal, Mumbai and Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West) local. Till now, calls between the three metro cities and their respective States and the two parts of UP were long distance (STD) ones and the consumers had to pay for roaming. Under the new facility, announced by Communication and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran, calls from mobile-to-mobile and fixed-to-mobile will now become local. Under the new scheme, there would be no roaming charges between Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra, Chennai and the rest of Tamil Nadu, Kolkata and the rest of West Bengal, UP (East) and UP (West). These changes would be effective from May 25, Maran said adding even the private operators have assured the Government of their support in this regard. "However, the access providers will operate within their existing licensed service areas and shall not be permitted to create infrastructure outside their areas for the purpose of inter-service area connectivity," he said. "They will, however, be allowed to lease lines for such connectivity. The inter-service area connectivity will only be for terminating traffic," Maran added. Mobile customers in these circles would be benefited which would lead to further growth of services in these areas, he said. Today's announcement addresses the differences between the circles. Initially, the mobile service licences were given in four metros of Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata and later granted in telecom circles. Thus, there are separate mobile service licences for Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai and other parts of the respective States. In the case of Uttar Pradesh, the telecom circle was bifurcated in December 1994 for better development and administration of telecom services. ----------- Press Note from The Department of Telecom The arrangement for dialing and routing of calls from mobile-to-mobile and fixed-to-mobile in the metro district of Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai and their corresponding remaining parts of the States and for service areas of Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West) are different when compared to other States in India. This difference arose due to historical reasons. Initially, licenses for mobile services were granted in the four metro cities of Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Subsequently, mobile services licenses were granted in telecom circles. Thus, there is separate mobile service licence for metro cities of Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai and their corresponding remaining parts of the States. Historically, Uttar Pradesh Telecom Circle was divided in two parts namely Uttar Pradesh (East) and Uttar Pradesh (West). This meant that for calls between these service areas, one has to prefix “0” before the mobile number and such calls were treated as STD calls. The Government has decided to remove this difference in pubic interest. For this purpose, inter-service area connectivity between access providers in the above mentioned States has been permitted. However, the Access Providers will operate within their existing licensed service areas and shall not be permitted to create infrastructure outside their licensed service areas for the purpose of inter-service area connectivity. The Access Providers may take lease lines for such connectivity. This inter-service area connectivity shall be only for terminating traffic. The dialling procedure for calls within a State, for these States, would also be simplified i.e. dialling of mobile-to mobile subscribers and fixed-to-mobile subscribers would be without prefixing ‘0’. With the above arrangement, calls within a State in the above-mentioned four States would be treated as non-STD calls and the subscribers would not be required to prefix “0”. With this decision, the long pending demand of public for rationalization of treatment of calls in these areas has been addressed and it is expected that mobile customers will be benefited by the removal of STD charges, which would lead to further growth of mobile services in these areas. Department of Telecom New Delhi, May 21,2005 LONG LIVE DoT ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dilbert 0 Report post Posted May 21, 2005 Yipeee.... Cheers... Long live DOT......Hurray !!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kams19 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2005 that means 440 rcv would be for free calling throughout maharashtra including mumbai?? what will be the other benefits??? lets explore all... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chirag 5 Report post Posted May 22, 2005 Waah! Some relief on my bills now! Gr8! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kams19 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2005 i just called to CC, as usal, these people dont hav any info abt merger of circles.. duffers! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Puneet 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2005 Give them some time man, they do not follow the telecom news as we do. Further, no mobile company has actually come out with the tariffs applicable in view of the change as of yet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rakesh5295 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2005 can somone explain me what is this , i mean suppose i call someone in pune i will be charged local call ? and suppose i go in pune dont i have to pay for incoming as it says - " there would bw no roaming charges in mumbai and rest of maharashtra Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arun 795 Report post Posted May 22, 2005 All calls in the state of Maharashtra will be considered as a local call and there will be no roaming (incoming) charge when you travel anywhere in the state of Maharashtra. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rakesh5295 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2005 Thats so cooll!! i really cant beleive that this is being implemeted from 25th may, no operator has announced any rate changes like this. if as said by arun incoming r free in mahrashtra then i think even orange and others will have to go away with romaing rental or can they charge them... i think all this will get clear after 25th may and hope this gets implemented and not postponed like the reduction in internet charged has posponed due to legal hurdle of vsnl. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arun 795 Report post Posted May 22, 2005 Thats so cooll!! i really cant beleive that this is being implemeted from 25th may, no operator has announced any rate changes like this. if as said by arun incoming r free in mahrashtra then i think even orange and others will have to go away with romaing rental or can they charge them... i think all this will get clear after 25th may and hope this gets implemented and not postponed like the reduction in internet charged has posponed due to legal hurdle of vsnl. 32213[/snapback] rakesh, this was not announced by any operator, but DoT. The announcement is applicable to all operators. Yes, there should be more announcements from the operators and in the media by the 25th. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dilbert 0 Report post Posted May 23, 2005 Any idea, Delhi will be merged with what circle??? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anujit 0 Report post Posted May 23, 2005 Delhi wont be merged with anything. I think the Delhi circle encompasses the whole NCR! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
l_guy 0 Report post Posted May 23, 2005 Delhi wont be merged with anything. I think the Delhi circle encompasses the whole NCR! 32229[/snapback] Yes ur rt Delhi wont be merged wiht any state. it will remain as a one circle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abc123 0 Report post Posted May 23, 2005 hi, after the recent direction of local call between mumbai and maharashtra. will roaming be free within this two circle. And does anyone has a idea of bplmobile charges who has already started the local call system frm today. Does any one have idea..................... Please place it here Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
linuxguy 0 Report post Posted May 23, 2005 Will there be any roaming rental? or the entire "concept" of roaming will be totally removed in maharashtra? I spoke to the Orange CC and they refused to give out any info stating that they don't have any confirmation regarding it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kams19 0 Report post Posted May 23, 2005 i think it will be waived off but some rental will come in place.. as rental is also a source of revenue for the GSM providers, bt lets see.. BPL mobile has started the services of local dialing to rest of maharashtra from Mumbai.. lets see whn Reliance starts! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Arun 795 Report post Posted May 23, 2005 hmmm... it isn't clear whether the 'whole concept' of roaming will be removed. Under the new scheme, there would be no roaming charges between Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra... Most probably, that could mean there won't be any rental charges for roaming, but not exactly sure whether they meant incoming charge along with it. Anyway, fingers crossed till 25th Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dilbert 0 Report post Posted May 24, 2005 Well we have to keep our fingers crossed, but the concept is that the entire state of Mah, TN & Bengal will become a single circle..just like other states. For e.g. in the state of gujarat you can roam the entire state of Guj without any roaming rentals, the incoming is free & call any cell from a landline then it is a local call. These four metros were supposed to be the maximum revenue generators thats why they were demarcated in a different circle. Also all the services were rolled in these metros in the first phase, thats why they continued to be different circles till date. Just a day more to go for 25th... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mohan_27x 0 Report post Posted May 24, 2005 (edited) hi, after the recent direction of local call between mumbai and maharashtra. will roaming be free within this two circle. And does anyone has a idea of bplmobile charges who has already started the local call system frm today. Does any one have idea..................... Please place it here 32266[/snapback] BPL is the first co who has decleared it officially (see today's loksatta for their ad.) Adding to that now maharashtra circle will be maharashtra incusive of mumbai and Goa! Mr. Maran clearly said from 25 the of this monthfollowing calls will be treated as local call: mobile to mobile land line to mobile anywhere in maharashtra inclusive of mumbai means no roaming charges, no need to dial "0"/ and have std fascility Can some one throw lite whether inclusion of Goa is automatic or Bpl has given this at their own Edited May 24, 2005 by mohan_27x Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abc123 0 Report post Posted May 24, 2005 Can some one throw lite whether inclusion of Goa is automatic or Bpl has given this at their own Goa is already part of maharashtra circle. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sanjeev 0 Report post Posted May 24, 2005 (edited) Hi Friends, As per local news paper of Mumbai, Govt. declared that all calls (irrespective of Mobile - Mobile or Land line - Land line) will be declared as Local Calls. This will be effective from 25th May,05. Thx to Govt. Now we have to see the move of Reliance towards STD call rates in Maharashtra. Thread Merged Edited May 24, 2005 by Arun Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dilbert 0 Report post Posted May 24, 2005 (edited) Hi Sanjeev...you are a bit late to break this news, check a thread on this which is active since last three days & have got scores of views on it.... Thread Merged Edited May 24, 2005 by Arun Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
abc123 0 Report post Posted May 24, 2005 Hey guys, any update on whts happening in this regards, And does bpl offers free roaming since they have already started local dialling for maharashtra frm mumbai................................... Please come forward if theres any update Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dilbert 0 Report post Posted May 24, 2005 No news yet...none of the cellcos had updated their websites at last check I bet they must be praying for a reversal in order or something like that... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
