Reliance Communications cuts roaming charges by 70 per cent, slashes STD rate to Re 1

Mumbai: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company Reliance Communications has slashed its roaming rates by about 70 per cent to 40 paise a minute on some select plans, while incoming has been made just Re1 per minute from Rs1.75 earlier.

''''Now, we have taken a step further by reducing roaming rates to as low as 40 paise per minute on select plans," Reliance Communications president (personal business) S.P. Shukla said.

He said, on the post-paid One India plans, all calls while in roaming will be charged one rupee per minute as against Rs1.75 being charged by other operators.

For the pre-paid `One India'' plan, roaming rates would be 40 paise per minute for all ''on-net'' (Reliance to Reliance calls) and incoming calls would be charged 40 paise. Also, national STD would be available at one rupee per minute, he said.

He further said that on the pre-paid recharge coupon value of Rs 520 all calls in India would be charged Rs1.20 per minute, while on the Rs770 recharge, all local calls would be available at 80 paise per minute and inter-circle calls at Rs1.20 per minute.

The TRAI had, in February, reduced the roaming charges, as per which the maximum permissible charge for roaming calls, irrespective of terminating networks and tariff plans, was set at Rs1.40 per minute for outgoing local calls, Rs2.40 for outgoing national long distance calls and Rs1.75 for incoming calls. The telecom regulator had already removed rentals.

Roaming charge reduction gained more ground after former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran had told the media that he was planning the abolition of national roaming charges as a gift to Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi on his birthday on June 3.

The current minister A Raja has said the government is looking into the possibility.

Shukla further said that these rates were much lesser than the rates prescribed by TRAI. He declined to comment on the revenue implications of the move.