In August I had written about the historical fall in STD / NLD / ILD charges in India. Today, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani controlled Reliance Communications Ltd dropped STD / NLD charges on calls within the Reliance network to Zero. Subscribers of Reliance pre-paid and post-paid phones have to buy a new Reliance calling card and they are all set to chat with their friends and family within India for FREE between 11:00PM and 6:00AM. This is likely to kick-off a new rate war in the cheapest and fastest growing telecom market in the world.
Click on the chart above to see how cellular tariifs have fallen in India since 1998. Also see the exponetial growth in cellular subscribers.
In another development, TRAI has hinted that mobile roaming charges are quite high and has initiated a consultation paper [PDF] to review the same. It will be a great move if national roaming charges which range from Rs3.0 to Rs4.0 per minute are brought down to Rs1.0 per minute. This will only help out IT Minister lobby with the global telcos and push for lower international roaming tariffs which he has already asked for in the 3G congress meeting held in New Delhi this June.
Don’t be mere spectators, India has changed and our Government wants your expert opinion, so rush in your thoughts to the TRAI or to me and I’ll convey them on your behalf.
Tags: Mobile India, Telecom India, Mobile Roaming, Reliance Mobile