BSNL cuts ISD rates by 33%, others may follow

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) today announced a 33.33 per cent cut in international long distance (ISD) call rates to Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Africa and the Saarc nations.

The PSU also announced a 25 per cent cut on domestic bandwidth which may result in a drop in broadband tariff. The discount on domestic bandwidth would be applicable in 74 major cities, including all state capitals and Union Territories.

While Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) said that it would follow suit, other operators such as Bharti, Reliance and Tata Teleservices said they were yet to decide on tariff reduction.

The new ISD tariffs, to come into effect from May 21, will be charged at the rate of Rs 12 per minute against the existing Rs 18 per minute, BSNL Chairman and Managing Director A K Sinha said during the World Telecom Day celebrations.

Sinha said this would bring the highest ISD tariff to any part of the world from BSNL to the level of Rs 12 per minute. The reduced rates will be applicable from landline, cellular and WLL networks of BSNL, he added.

Earlier, BSNL had announced a 15-25 per cent cut in domestic leased-line tariff, but following a request from Minister for Communication and IT Dayanidhi Maran, Sinha announced a flat 25 per cent reduction in leased-line tariff across all bandwidths.

"We already have the infrastructure in place. The reduction in tariff will attract good volume growth, which will compensate for the tariff cut," Sinha added.