The Hindu : National : Lower phone rates on the cards, says Maran

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Feb 11, 2006

National

National

Lower phone rates on the cards, says Maran

Sandeep Dikshit

OneIndia tariff plan is to meet rural India needs

NEW DELHI : Claiming credit for the countrywide common call rate, Union Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran said on Friday that private companies would also reduce phone charges as soon as the Government resolved the last hurdle.

Mr. Maran said that for the past six months the Government had been removing obstacles in the way of bringing about low phone rates.

"Today, the phone tariff is the lowest in the world and India has also registered a higher telecom growth rate than China in January."

The thrust of the `OneIndia tariff plan' was to meet the needs of rural India, where call costs were considered too high. It was also aimed at restoring the popularity of landline phones and attracting the Rs. 600 plus usage category.

Mr. Maran told newspersons that the uniform tariff was his concept but the two State-owned phone companies had "boldly" gone ahead with "knocking out distance." Soon the private companies would follow suit.

Landline surrender

Reliance Infocomm had announced a similar initiative last month but Mr. Maran did not consider it "truly one India." The BSNL too had some alternatives to stop the surrender of landlines.

The reduction of rentals late last year had no effect. So far, 30 lakh subscribers had returned their BSNL landline phones.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India was expected to announce a new method by which private phone companies would pay the access deficit charge (ADC).

The consequent lower burden would enable them to announce lower calling rates.

Mr. Maran said the conversion of ad hoc ADC into a revenue sharing arrangement would remove the last remaining barrier to lower phone rates.

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