The Hindu Business Line : BSNL slashes fixed-line STD rate to Re 1/min

Cheaper calls: Mr A.K. Sinha (right), Chairman and Managing Director, BSNL, and Mr S.D. Saxena, Director- Finance, addressing a press conference in the Capital on Thursday. - Ramesh Sharma

New Delhi , Oct 12

In a Diwali bonanza for over one crore fixed-line telephone users, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd on Thursday reduced STD rates by 60 per cent from Rs 2.40 per minute to Re 1 per minute. Tariffs of local calls have also been brought down from Rs 1.20 to Re 1 for a three-minute call. The move is part of BSNL's One India plan, which allows subscribers to make calls to any part of the country at Re 1.

The new tariff plan will automatically be available to all subscribers who currently pay Rs 180 per month as rental and those who had already subscribed to One India Plan. As per BSNL's records, 1.16 crore subscribers will benefit from the reduced tariffs immediately.

Subscribers on other tariff plans will have to apply separately to get the benefit. About 4 lakh subscribers who have already taken the One India plan will benefit as BSNL has dropped the monthly rental from Rs 225 to Rs 180 and increased the number of free calls from 25 to 50. The new tariffs will be applicable from November 1. Other fixed line operators including Tata Teleservices, MTNL and Bharti Airtel are also looking to revise their tariffs.

Announcing the new tariff, Mr A.K. Sinha, Chairman and Managing Director of BSNL, said, "Our objective is to make fixed line more attractive and we hope that subscribers who had surrendered our phones will now come back. This is the cheapest tariff on offer compared to what other mobile and fixed telephone operators are offering."

As per BSNL's estimates, a subscriber who makes 400 minutes of calls every month with 100 minutes of STD will now get a bill of Rs 514 as compared to Rs 691 under the existing tariff scheme.

Further, consumers using PCOs to make local calls will now be able to talk for 60 seconds instead of 45 seconds for Re 1.

BSNL has estimated a revenue loss of Rs 2,100 crore as a result of these tariff cuts, which it hopes to make up with growth in volumes.

For mobile subscribers, BSNL has joined hands with Nokia and Motorola to offer bundled handsets with its pre-paid Excel cellular connection.

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