Mobile Operators Strike Back

IN a New Year bonanza to about 10 million subscribers, cellular operators Airtel, Hutch, BPL, Idea Cellular, RPG, Spice and Escotel today cut cell-to-cell long-distance tariff by two-thirds to a flat Rs 2.99 a minute from a peak rate of Rs 9 a minute.

For the first time, calls beyond 500 km between two cell subscribers will be cheaper than on a fixed line, which still cost Rs 9 a minute.

After a closed-door meeting which lasted over four hours, the CEOs of the seven cell companies fired their first salvo to counter the aggressive tariffs announced by the limited mobility players, specifically Reliance Infocomm.

The company had on December 27 promised a long-distance tariff of 40 paise per minute for its subscribers. Cell subscribers making long-distance calls in the 50-200 km range will, however, pay 60 paise more than the Rs 2.40 a minute they paid earlier.

The move is expected to cost the cellular operators another Rs 300 crore in revenue, adding to their accumulated losses of Rs 8,000 crore.

FB Cardoso, president, BPL Mobile, said: