Taking on cellular players in the long distance mobile telephony market, Reliance Infocomm has gone a step ahead to offer a cell-beating Rs 1.90 per minute for inter-circle long distance call above 50 km from its network to any other cellular network. The move could trigger another price war in long distance charges as cellular operators are currently charging Rs 2.99 (plus airtime charges) per minute for national long distance calls.
Cellular operators are expected to announce their new tariff plans soon.
Reliance subscribers will now be charged on a pulse duration of 60 seconds instead of the earlier announced duration of 15 seconds. According to a company release, inter-circle calls from Reliance WLL-M network to any cellular network would be charged at Rs 1.90 per minute above 50 km distance while local, intra-circle (irrespective of distance) and inter-circle (up to 50 km) calls to cellular networks will be charged at Rs 1.20 per minute.
Calls from the Reliance WLL-M network to any fixed line network could be charged from Rs 1 to Rs 4 per minute, subject to distance. International calls would cost between Rs 14 and Rs 18 depending on the time when the call is made and the destination. The good news is that all the incoming calls will become free irrespective of type of service. However, fixed line users will now have to pay different charges for making a 3 minute outgoing call to fixed, cellular and wireless in local loop phones.