The Hindu Business Line : ISD settlement: VSNL to match other operators

VIDESH Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) has agreed to match the lower settlement rates on ISD calls offered to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) by Data Access Ltd and Reliance Infocomm.

According to industry sources, with this, all outgoing ISD calls will continue to be routed through the VSNL network till the time that BSNL starts its own international long distance (ILD) operations. The lower settlement rates that are being offered by VSNL would also mean that the tariffs of ISD calls made by BSNL subscribers could be lowered, if the company wishes to pass on the benefits to customers.

It may be recalled that BSNL had invited bids from ILD operators for routing its international traffic, once its existing agreement with VSNL lapsed in February this year. Data Access has emerged the lowest bidder for carrying traffic for the US, the UK, Canada and the Gulf region, which account for over 60 per cent of the outgoing ISD traffic.

The company has quoted a settlement rate of Rs 1.69 per minute, compared with Rs 6 offered by VSNL.

A settlement rate is the revenue that is shared with foreign carriers to deliver the ISD call to its destination.

VSNL has emerged the lowest bidder for calls to rest of Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the SAARC countries, Saudi Arabia and Africa, which together account for 33 per cent of the country's international traffic. Reliance Infocomm is the lowest bidder for the South-East Asian sector, which includes Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong