One of the objectives of the New Telecom
Policy – 2012 is to work towards ‘one nation – free roaming’. Stating this in
written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today, Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister
of Communications and Information Technology, said that as per the provisions
of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act, 1997 as amended from time
to time, TRAI prescribes tariffs for telecommunication services in India.
Taking into consideration the declared intent of the New Telecom Policy – 2012
for roaming charges, TRAI undertook a comprehensive consultation process to
prescribe roaming charges. As a result of a comprehensive consultation process,
TRAI issued 55th amendment to Telecom Tariff Order (TTO) 1999 on 17.06.2013,
which came into effect from 01.07.2013. This amendment brought about the
following changes in the tariff regime for national roaming service:
- The ceiling tariffs prescribed by TRAI in
the year 2007 were Rs.1.40 per minute for outgoing local calls and Rs.2.40
per minute for outgoing STD calls while on national roaming. These
ceilings have been reduced to Re. 1.00 per minute and Rs. 1.50 per minute
respectively. Similarly, the ceiling tariffs for incoming calls while on
national roaming have been reduced from Rs.1.75 per minute to Re. 0.75 per
minute. Tariffs for outgoing SMS while on national roaming, which were
earlier under forbearance have now been capped: outgoing SMS-local at Re.
1.00 per SMS and outgoing SMS-STD at Rs. 1.50 per SMS. Incoming SMS will
remain free of charge.
- Special Tariff Vouchers(STVs) and Combo
Vouchers with the benefits of national roaming have been allowed to
provide flexibility and convenience to the customers.
- The service providers have been mandated
to offer special tariff plans for roaming. The subscribers can avail
partially free roaming, or fully free roaming in lieu of payment of fixed
charges, by subscribing to the corresponding tariff plan.
All the wireless access service providers
including BSNL and MTNL have implemented the tariff for national roaming in
accordance with the reduced ceilings prescribed through the 55th Amendment to
Telecom Tariff Order (TTO), 1999. All the service providers have launched
special tariff plans for roaming. Some of the service providers have launched
special tariff vouchers and combo vouchers for national roaming.
While the reduced ceiling tariffs for
national roaming service would benefit all the users, special tariff vouchers
and combo vouchers would be beneficial for infrequent roamers. On the other
hand, special tariff plans would benefit the frequent roamers.
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KKP