Tata Tele switches pulse rate

Tata Group company, Tata Tele-Services (TTSL) a CDMA cellular service provider, is changing its billing from the per-second pulse to-per minute pulse. The company is also devising a differential tariff plan for calls made within its own network.

According to the company, under the new plan, the pulse rate would be changed to per minute against the per second pulse used earlier. Company officials said this was for easy benchmarking of its lower tariff against that offered by its competitors who offer the minute pulse billing system.

The company also intends to move ahead with plans to offer cheaper rates for Tata Indicom mobile users as is the practice followed by nearly all other cellular operators at present. This is despite the fact that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is contemplating banning cellular operators from offering lower rates for calls made within its network.

The company says in its defence that it would withdraw the plan if DoT puts the ban into effect.

The company is also launching two new pre-paid cards of the Rs180 and Rs550 (including service tax) in place of the previous minimum of Rs330.

Tata Teleservices is part of the Tata Group, with a formidable presence across the telecom value chain. The Tata Group has declared plans of making additional investment of around Rs9,000 crore ($2 billion) in this sector in the next two years.

Tata Teleservices was the first to launch CDMA mobile services in India and company offers services under the brand name 'Tata Indicom' in eight key Indian circles comprising 70 per cent of the telecom revenue potential of the country.