Local Intra-circle Calls May Be Cheaper

[KumaarShah 143]

Times News Network - Tuesday, May 29, 2007 02:09:56 AM

NEW DELHI: Local and intra-circle calls from a private operator's network to a BSNL landline or mobile will be cheaper by up to 20%, if the Department of Telecom (DoT) approves a demand raised by private operators.

Private operators have approached the DoT stating that it is their legitimate right for carriage and termination of local calls and intra-circle call (within a circle or a state) on BSNL numbers, and this would result in the reduction of Rs 0.20 which the PSU charges.

They have also demanded that the DoT ensures that licence conditions are implemented which permit them to carry local and intra-circular traffic if they have a mutual agreement with the operator from whom the call originates.

At present, BSNL does not allow private players to carry local calls to the PSU's network as it maintains that an agreement with the terminating operator is required to carry intra circle calls. Private operators allege that since the licence agreements does mention an agreement with the terminating operator BSNL has always interpreted this clause to its advantage.

For instance if an Hutch subscriber based in Amritsar makes a call to a BSNL landline of mobile within the same city or in Ludhiana, Hutch cannot carry this call. Instead, Hutch pays Rs 0.20 per minute to BSNL and hands over this call to the PSU at its point of origin.

“Considering that we have national long distance (NLD) license, we must be allowed to carry and terminate intra-circle traffic on BSNL's network, and this will result in the reduction of Rs 0.20 per minute charge, which BSNL currently imposes. This will lead to a reduction in the cost of telecom services for the end customer. While there is no doubt that competition will hit the revenue of the incumbent operator, however, the same should not be the reason for protecting one particular segment of the telecom service artificially,” said a leading private operator.

“When all areas in telecom are being opened for competition, this is being artificially protected by BSNL despite the license clearly specifying it. Even if private operators were to offer only a Rs 0.10 reduction, subscribers can still get a 10% reduction on intra-circle calls,” said a source from a telecom industry association.

Bharti Airtel has even pointed out that private NLD players had already established points of interconnect along the BSNL network for terminating STD calls and the same could be used for local calls also. Bharti has also told the DoT that routing of intra circle calls by NLD players will result in better call completion and reduced cost of carriage for access providers and increased competition among NLDOs including BSNL.

Will RCL also pass on the benefit or will they increase the call charges, like they did with the roaming charges?

[raccoon 53]

Great news... hope it is implimented! But I doubt if RCL will pass on the benifits. Remember they are still happily charging Rs. 1.79 /min for a local m-m call on their base plan for pre-paid! If I remember correct, since the last ADC cut, all other operators reduced charges, but RCL has stuck doggedly to its tariffs.

I guess RCL believes offering cheaper (Classic) handsets is way more important than offering competitive tariffs!

[linuxguy 0]

racoon, in Mumbai Hutch is charging Rs.1.99 for m2m, m2l, h2h calls and Rs.1.5 per SMS on prepaid ok. So dont even complain about 1.79!

[raccoon 53]

Dude, my complaints are completely justified, cus I'm talking about Mah & Goa circle ...not Bombay! Here in Mah & Goa most operators are offering 50 paise tariffs for pre-paid. For on-net calls, its MUCH lower.

I dont know what Bombay pre-paid tariffs are ...but I have a friend in Bombay who pays just 30 paise/min for Hutch - Hutch calls! But hes on post-paid. Dont know if its available for pre-paid.

[amitbt22 2]

Well no operator is charging ur mentioned rates without value voucher.All have higher tariffs like rim in basic or starter pack in any state.

[KumaarShah 143]

RCL does not prevent anyone from using STVs to reduce the call charges. Following RCL's footsteps for a change, the pug also has announced some STVs in Chennai but all at steep prices. So also has Aircel and Airtel.

The base rates may be higher but the usage of STVs will lower your call charges drastically.

[raccoon 53]

You guys dont seem to be aware of the tariffs in Mah. circle. And I'm speaking only about Mah. circle ...I'm not aware of tariffs in other circles.

Most operators here are charging around Re. 1 on base plans for pre-paid.

Use of STVs bring the calling charges to 50 paise. (Some STV charges: Idea: Rs. 27 Idea-Idea @50 paise, Rs. 57 Idea-mobiles. Airtel Rs. 49 Airtel-mobiles @50 paise, etc, etc).

With RIM the the use of STV (or Rs. 360 voucher) brings the calling rate down to nothing lesser than 80 paise/min!

And lets not forget SMS charges - RIM charges the highest for the crappiest SMS experience!

Please also note that all other operators are offering higher talk time than RIM. Airtel for eg. is offering Rs. 211.5 talk-time on Rs. 350 voucher. RIM gives a measly Rs. 160 talk-time on Rs. 360 voucher.

Just compare all this with RIM. RIM has the priciest tariffs now! Can give lots of other comparisions... those intrested can check out the details themselves.

Edited May 30, 2007 by raccoon

[linuxguy 0]

racoon, RIM is probably not interested in having prepaid customers in Mah & Goa circle. As for prepaid in Mumbai, all operators except MTNL charge Rs.1.99 per minute to any phone. After activating some special promotional offers you can reduce your call rates. Like with Hutch 30p on net for a rental of 30 bucks and 99p offnet for a rental of 25 bucks per month. But call rates are nothing less than 1 re for offnet calls!

[raccoon 53]

Well, I guess Bombay has higher tariffs in general...

But how can they ignore pre-paid users when statistics show that 80% of subscribers are in the pre-paid catageory???

[KumaarShah 143]

You guys dont seem to be aware of the tariffs in Mah. circle. And I'm speaking only about Mah. circle ...I'm not aware of tariffs in other circles.

Most operators here are charging around Re. 1 on base plans for pre-paid.

Use of STVs bring the calling charges to 50 paise. (Some STV charges: Idea: Rs. 27 Idea-Idea @50 paise, Rs. 57 Idea-mobiles. Airtel Rs. 49 Airtel-mobiles @50 paise, etc, etc).

With RIM the the use of STV (or Rs. 360 voucher) brings the calling rate down to nothing lesser than 80 paise/min!

And lets not forget SMS charges - RIM charges the highest for the crappiest SMS experience!

Please also note that all other operators are offering higher talk time than RIM. Airtel for eg. is offering Rs. 211.5 talk-time on Rs. 350 voucher. RIM gives a measly Rs. 160 talk-time on Rs. 360 voucher.

Just compare all this with RIM. RIM has the priciest tariffs now! Can give lots of other comparisions... those intrested can check out the details themselves.

I agree fully with you on the above, raccoon.

RIM gives measly offers on their recharges and their STVs have a million conditions attached. All in all RIM prepaid is costly to use unless you are a nerd or techie (sorry, no offence meant to these class of guys) and able to comprehend what the jokers at RCL want to actually give you. And for all you know, by the time you decide on something in RIM, it is gone and you are back to square one. The poor CC also cannot be blamed for what RCL does. They are after all humans only. RIM needs to seriously employ robots in their CC to dole out correct and upto date info to their customers.

[raccoon 53]

Not just the standard tariffs, they also give real lame bonus offers too. The only benifits they have given me (been with them for more than 3.5 years) is the very ocasional bonus local on-net talk time ...which is almost totally useless for me.

And robots are far away ...I wish they would AT LEAST give all the details on their web site properly. But they dont even do that. But then most other operators are also not bothered about this either...

RIM is not all about paying premium for a less than mediocre experience!