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Journalism of Courage
In most countries, the more phone calls you make, the less you pay. This incentive ensures the growth in revenue and better service by the telecom industry. But, the lop-sided telephone tariff policy in India has the opposite effect. When the Department of Telecom (DoT) needs to cover expenses, the tariffs shoot up. The consumer is squeezed and has to bear the burden of the gross inefficiency.
As a city businessman, Ramesh Patel put it, “It goes with the old socialist idea that only the rich have phones. Today, everybody has a telephone. They are no longer a luxury but a sheer necessity. There should be a stand-up campaign against arbitrary increases like these," he says. Patel’s home truth is echoed by many, especially the middle-class. Most businesses and services are dependent on the telephone, and the recent announcement of a raise in tariffs, (in keeping with the TRAI), will hit consumers hard. In the meanwhile, the Telecom industry continues to ignore the real needs of the consumers and shrugs its shoulders about it’s own mis-handling.
"It is rather adverse for us,” says Dr Bipin Deshpande, who relies on the phone for patient updates. “We are in continuous need for feedback over the phone and it is going to be a bigger burden now. It would be better if they rethink their policy,” he urges.
Aditi Khatau, a young entrepreneur, who runs a catering service says, “It’s going to hit me very badly. Most of my business is on the phone, though most orders don’t go beyond three minutes, but sometimes they do. We don’t have a choice. What a rotten system. Abroad, more telephone calls mean less tariffs. Here, it’s the opposite.”
Although Fatima Ahmed, a city-based painter does not utilise the telephone as frequently as others may, she says,“What can we do. You have to accept this. Protests and writing letters have no effect, it’s useless.”
Sameer Desai, who uses a mobile phone quite liberally for business purposes, is unaware of the new rates to be levied. "I will have to use it selectively,” he says. “One gets used to a mobile, you know, but if the cost of using it is going to exceed the returns, then obviously, it is not worth it,” he says.
However, Desai need not worry, because Pune Telecom has provided a softer option for mobile-users. “If the proposed scheme, which is awaiting confirmation on July 20, goes through, the mobile-user can avail of free incoming calls after August 1. At present, a flat rate of Rs 600 and Rs 6 per minute for outgoing and incoming calls are being levied,” says a BPL Mobile spokesperson.
The STD/ISD rates have also been reduced, but it is still not much respite for people. Pooja Abhichandani, who makes STD calls regularly feels the number of local calls should not have been reduced. "The children make a lot of phone calls and there is no point in telling them to reduce the number of calls, because they don’t listen. Of course, on the whole we will try and reduce the use of the telephone,” she says.
“In fact, the STD/ISD rates should have remained the same, because only the people who need to use the facility and can afford it will use it. The hike in the tariff of local calls affects everybody,” she adds.
This certainly sounds like a “call” for a change in policy!
