The Hindu Business Line : Roaming within SAARC may become cheaper

Mobile users travelling to SAARC countries may get reduced roaming rates. The telecom regulators in these countries are looking at reducing the huge roaming tariffs on the lines of the proposal from the European Union, which has decided to drop roaming tariffs within Europe.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Nripendra Misra, Chairman, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, said: "The SAARC countries have already signed a resolution for working towards lower international roaming rates."

Roaming Rates

When asked as to whether any steps were being taken to bring down international roaming tariffs globally by the various telecom regulators, Mr Misra said that such a move would probably happen between SAARC countries as the telecom regulators of other regions have different philosophy and are more focussed on their respective regions.

Recently, the EU had announced its intention to drop roaming rates within Europe, which has been objected to by the operators. "International roaming benefits everyone, so no one wants to really address issue related to tariffs," said Mr Misra. Operators charge for international roaming is between Rs 60 and Rs 90 per minute.

Premium Service

Meanwhile, TRAI is also looking at bringing down national roaming rates, which at present is around Rs 6 per minute. While tariffs for local telephone calls and long distance rates have been decreasing, there has been no change in the roaming charges. Mobile operators have justified higher roaming charges on the grounds that it was a premium service used by the upper class. Operators said that the roaming charges would eventually come down as operators renegotiate the revenue share on roaming calls and there was no need for regulatory intervention.