Tags:
Journalism of Courage
For Mumbai advocate Vivek Khemka, May 1 was a red-letter day. From that day, all incoming calls on his mobile were free under the new IUC or interconnect regime.
Incoming comprised a whopping 60 per cent of his talk time. So his monthly mobile bill was set to plunge, right? Not really.
| QUICK RECAP | |
|
 You’ve Read Your Free Stories For Now
Sign up and keep reading more stories that matter to you.
Already have an account? Sign In
This story requires a subscription
Select a plan and use IE10 code to get 10% extra off
Already a subscriber? Sign in
This story requires a subscription
Please Select A Plan
This content is exclusive for our subscribers.
Subscribe now to get unlimited access to The Indian Express exclusive and premium stories.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
|
|
|
THE WINNERS, THE LOSERS
|
|
| Although the average monthly bill of a cell subscriber is likely to fall, the revenues that the cell companies generate are likely to stay constant. This is because of higher roaming and a new, twice-as-expensive rate Rs 2 for roaming SMS charges. Also, cell companies will now get access charges from fixed-phone operators. In the coming months, say cell companies, value-added-services will drive their revenues. 8216;8216;SMS, ring tones, MMS are going to be very big revenue earners for the operators,8217;8217; says Airtel8217;s Jhamb. Rentals, information services via SMS, interconnect charges are some of the alternate revenue streams that the operators are looking at. 8216;8216;We also hope the STD volumes will go up,8217;8217; adds Jhamb. So, clearly, operators are betting big on value-added services to counter the loss from free incoming. |
Within days of the announcement, almost all cell phone operators announced grand new plans, complete with slashed rates. But a fortnight down the line, the lawyer is not impressed. 8216;8216;It looks like my monthly bill will remain the same,8217;8217; shrugs Khemka, who, like most of us, has been bombarded with a new tariff plan almost every week right upto the middle of May.
8216;8216;My incoming is free, but according to my new tariff plan, my outgoing has become more expensive, so eventually I actually end up losing,8217;8217; he adds.
Hisham Kabir, a trainee-manager with BASF and heavy cell user, agrees. 8216;8216;Even if incoming is free, and we don8217;t make so many outgoing calls, what about SMS? We tend to send many messages and eventually our bill is bound to remain the same,8217;8217; he says. 8220;I don8217;t see how the new regime helps.8221;
And so the bafflement grows. 8216;8216;Yes, there is lot of confusion,8217;8217; admits Atul Jhamb, Chief Operating Officer of Airtel in Mumbai. Mainly because now every operator will come up with new tariffs everyday under the new regime.
8216;8216;One month from now, I guess things will get a little clearer for the market and then it will take a little more time for the whole thing to trickle down to the customer level,8217;8217; forecasts an optimistic Jhamb.
8216;8216;It8217;s too early to say anything about new tariffs at the moment8217;8217; says Kunal Ramteke, marketing controller at BPL Mobile Communications Limited, 8216;8216;But, yes! there will be composite rates for the customers,8217;8217; he adds, pointing out at one singular rate across the board.
| WHAT8217;S ON YOUR MIND? | |
|
8226; My incoming is free, which means that my bills will come down? 8226; What about STD? Story continues below this ad |
|
|
THE WINNERS, THE LOSERS
|
|
|
8226; Cell2Cell long distance calls 8226; Cell2Cell local calls 8226; Cell2Land 8226; Land2Cell Story continues below this ad 8226; Number of free calls |
