Dot May Scale Down Fixed-To-Cell Tariffs

In a climb-down from its earlier stance, the department of telecommunications (DoT) is willing to reduce the fixed-to-cellular call tariffs introduced last month. Sources said DoT was open to the idea of reducing the pulse rate for such calls from the current rate of 8/16/24/36 seconds per unit call.

The pulse rate sets the number of seconds for which a unit call is billed. A pulse rate of eight would imply that every eight seconds would be billed as a unit call. One minute of a call would be billed for 7.5 calls (one minute divided by eight).

Department of telecommunications may be willing to reduce pulse rates to 36/72/96/120 seconds per unit call, sources said.

Such a scale-down of the pulse rate would result in a substantial reduction in call tariffs. For instance, the maximum tariff under the current fixed-to-cellular call pulse rate (8/16/24/36 seconds per unit call, depending on the time of the day) for a three-minute call stands at a little more than Rs 28. If the pulse rate is scaled down to 36/72/96/120 seconds, the maximum tariff for a similar call would be Rs 6.25.

The department, however, considers the reduction in pulse rate only in tandem with an MSC (mobile switching centre)-specific numbering plan.

Such a solution envisages an unique MSC-specific access code, the first few digits in a dialled number like 981 in Delhi cellular numbers.

An MSC-specific numbering plan takes care of the fear of DoT that its long-distance call traffic revenue within a state the licensed service area for basic and cellular operators would be taken away by cellular operators. The solution disallows cellphone users making long-distance calls at local call charges.

Department of telecommunications is expected to reply to a petition filed by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) before the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday, or the next day, if Monday is a holiday.

The association has argued that the business plans of cellular projects have come to naught after the introduction of what it has dubbed killer tariffs.

Most companies are expected to garner as much as 50 per cent of their revenues from incoming calls which are billed in cellular networks.

Since the new Department of Telecom tariffs will substantially affect such incoming traffic, cellular companies are having difficulty finding debt funds.

In fact, the companies claim the incoming traffic has already gone down by half after the introduction of the new fixed-to-cellular tariff.