MTNL goes long distance

Get ready for a fresh bout of drops in long distance tariffs. State owned telecom operator MTNL is ready to kick-start its own National Long Distance network and has drawn out plans to get a bigger bang from every subscriber buck.

Get ready for a fresh bout of drops in long distance tariffs. State owned telecom operator MTNL is ready to kick-start its own National Long Distance (NLD) network and has drawn out plans to get a bigger bang from every subscriber buck.

MTNL on Monday got a letter of intent from the government giving it the go-ahead for an NLD license. With license bagged, a strident MTNL is bargaining for unheard-of carriage rates from its bigger brother BSNL on long-distance routes.

In addition, MTNL has plans to keep BSNL out of the hugely profitable Delhi-Mumbai circuit, where it wants to use its own NLD network to provide services.

Story continues below this ad

For the rest of the country, MTNL will stick with BSNL, but is negotiating for the lowest-ever call carriage rates.

On Monday, Department of Telecom (DoT) officials held meetings with BSNL and MTNL executives to get them to agree on a carriage charge that MTNL finds acceptable even after it has its own NLD license.

The target rate MTNL is asking for is 30 paise for every one-minute call, which is far less than the 65 paise a minute that BSNL currently gets as carriage charges. With such low rates, MTNL will be able to offer its customers calls at Re 1 per minute.

This Re 1 tariff, sources said, will only be valid when a MTNL customer calls another MTNL phone user. An added bonanza will be that MTNL will offer this Re 1 per minute tariff without increasing rentals (for landlines and mobiles both).

Story continues below this ad

When contacted, MTNL CMD R.S.P. Sinha confirmed the decision to ask for the far-lower quotes and the negotiations with BSNL.

‘‘Yes we are in talks with BSNL and we have sent them also the quotes for lower carriage charges. We will see the impact of the NLD license later,’’ Sinha said.

With Re 1 calls, MTNL will surpass the government’s ‘One India’ tariffs and give its customers, who currently pay Rs 2.40 a minute, a major windfall.

Under ‘One India’, tariffs are at Re 1, but rentals are significantly higher, making the scheme less attractive to subscribers than the government had believed.

Story continues below this ad

MTNL’s bristling confidence comes from the fact that it has added more customers for mobile phones than any other operator over the last financial year.

And with an NLD license to go, MTNL gets an edge over BSNL, which has been carrying all its national inter-city calls so far.

Immediately after the license was at hand, MTNL made noises about inviting bids for better carriage charges from private operators. Since this would lead BSNL towards losses of Rs 600 crore at least, the DoT stepped in to resolve the issue.

Chances are, the friendly new rates from MTNL will be up for grabs soon, and BSNL will pay.

amitav.ranjan@expressindia.com

Canada, UK and Australia formally recognise a Palestinian state

World4 hr ago

The UK, Canada, and Australia have recognized Palestine as a state, going against the US and Israel's opposition. British PM Starmer aims to revive peace without Hamas and hostage release. Canada and Australia also recognize Palestine, condemning terrorism. Over 145 UN members recognize Palestine, with France likely to join soon.

View all shorts

Live Blog