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MTNL cuts down rates of its cellphone service
Good news for the pockets of the cellphone users, Union communications minister Ram Vilas Paswan has announced in Mumbai that an incoming call would cost Rs 1.50 per minute and an outgoing call Rs 2.70, in the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) mobile system.
Good news for the pockets of the cellphone users, Union communications minister Ram Vilas Paswan has announced in Mumbai that an incoming call would cost Rs 1.50 per minute and an outgoing call Rs 2.70, in the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) mobile system.
This is far below the ceiling of Rs 4 specified by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for both outgoing and incoming calls. Registration for the service opens on January 15 in Delhi and next month in Mumbai.
Apart from the call rates, MTNL will charge a rental of Rs 400 monthly, Paswan said that the service will begin in Delhi on January 26 in Delhi and in Mumbai on February 28. MTNL's rates are expected to be the cheapest among all the private basic cellphone operators in the two metros. Private operators like AirTel and Essar-Hutchison, for instance, have multiple slabs for consumers starting from the TRAI ceiling of 4/4 (Rs 4 for incoming and Rs 4 for outgoing) per minute. The other incoming/outgoing slabs are 1/8 and 2/6 per minute. Similarly, in Delhi, depending on the package consumers opt for, the rentals, too, vary from Rs 475 to 625 a month. Typical of state sector working, the minister announced that MTNL will have one-third of the cellular connections reserved for women. During the first phase, MTNL would provide the service to one lakh customers, increasing it to three lakh in the second phase, Paswan said. The registrations would be on a first-come-first-served basis. ``The registration fee, however, is still to be finalised,'' he added.
Bureau Report
Apart from the call rates, MTNL will charge a rental of Rs 400 monthly, Paswan said that the service will begin in Delhi on January 26 in Delhi and in Mumbai on February 28. MTNL's rates are expected to be the cheapest among all the private basic cellphone operators in the two metros. Private operators like AirTel and Essar-Hutchison, for instance, have multiple slabs for consumers starting from the TRAI ceiling of 4/4 (Rs 4 for incoming and Rs 4 for outgoing) per minute. The other incoming/outgoing slabs are 1/8 and 2/6 per minute. Similarly, in Delhi, depending on the package consumers opt for, the rentals, too, vary from Rs 475 to 625 a month. Typical of state sector working, the minister announced that MTNL will have one-third of the cellular connections reserved for women. During the first phase, MTNL would provide the service to one lakh customers, increasing it to three lakh in the second phase, Paswan said. The registrations would be on a first-come-first-served basis. ``The registration fee, however, is still to be finalised,'' he added.
Bureau Report