Telecom tariffs to fall yet again

The initial signs of a fall in tariffs are emerging, going by on-net call rate slash by leading telecom operators from mid-April as they attempt to regain some of their subscribers lost to competition.

The telecom operators had lost subscribers following the launch of mobile number portability (MNP), introduction of 3G services and cancellation of some of their licences by the Supreme Court in February.

However, this fall is not expected to be as hefty as the previous one, when the new operators commenced services following the spectrum allocation in 2008, and operators undercut each other to gain a foothold in one of the fastest telecom markets in the world.

Operators such as Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Vodafone India had launched 'discount vouchers' in some their leadership circles, where they are the top three players, in the last 45 days, financial services firm Credit Suisse said in a note.

This move was followed by other operators, resulting in a fall in tariffs, with now call rates have fallen and now half-a-paisa per second (or 1 paisa for every 2 second call) being the present industry norm.

''Our study shows that starting April 2012, most leading operators have introduced discount vouchers with low enough monthly fixed costs – for this to be meaningful to most subscribers. In addition, we believe there are new pressures around roaming discounts and extra-talktime recharge vouchers,'' Credit Suisse research analyst Sunil Tirumalai said in the note.