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Thomas K. Thomas

New Delhi, Nov. 21 It’s the death of roaming charges. In yet another game-changing move, Tata DoCoMo is extending to roaming services seconds-based billing that it offers for local calls. Subscribers on Tata DoCoMo’s network moving from one circle to another will soon pay only one paise a second. Incoming calls while roaming will also be charged at the same rate.

All the other operators currently charge roaming services on a per-minute basis. While these rates are higher than the tariff for local calls, they also vary depending on whether one is calling a subscriber within the same operator’s or on another’s network. The offer from Tata DoCoMo will be uniform irrespective of the location or destination of the call.

The company is expected to make an announcement on the new roaming tariff in the next few days, according to sources in the industry. When contacted, a Tata Teleservices spokesperson declined to comment.

The move is aimed at countering Bharti Airtel’s Friday decision to reduce roaming tariffs by 60 per cent. Airtel launched a Turbo plan for roaming facilities charging 60 paise a minute for all incoming calls and between 60 paise and 80 paise a minute for outgoing calls. However, Airtel has made it available only on a single plan for which users will have to pay an upfront fee of Rs 98.

The Tata DoCoMo offer will be available without any upfront cost to the user and will be applicable across all its tariff plans. On the downside, Tata GSM service is available only across 15 circles since the company is yet to roll out in other areas. Tata DoCoMo is expected to complete its roll out in 19 circles by the year-end. Airtel offer on the other hand is available across all the circles in the country.

Tata DoCoMo was the first to introduce seconds-based billing on local calls. The move ensured that the company got the highest number of new users in the last 3 months. The initiative on the roaming front is expected to trigger the next wave of tariff battle in the mobile segment.

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