In a steep reduction in long distance (STD) rates, private cellular operators on Tuesday announced 50 per cent cut in rates on mobile to mobile calls with effect from January 26 next. STD rates during night hours (from 9 pm to 9 am), would cost just Rs 6 per minute for national and Rs 3 for regional calls, while during the peak hours, 9 am to 9 pm the rates would be reduced from the current Rs 24 per minute to Rs 12 for a national call and Rs 6 per minute for a call within the region. For home location calls (from 50 kms to 200 kms range) there will be a flat rate at all times of Rs 2.40 per minute. The airtime will be charged as per the various plans currently available.
A group of private cellular operators including Hutchison, Escotel, Airtel, Spice, BPL Mobile, Koshika and AT&T decided to pass on the benefit offered to them by Bharti Telesonic which launched its STD services under the brand name ‘India One’ on Monday and offered deep discounts to operators.
The connectivity for various national long distance (STD) destinations will be made available in multiphased manner, starting on January 26 initially for the cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai in addition to states to Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh (West), Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab and Maharashtra in the first phase, Manoj Kohli, CEO of Escotel told reporters in New Delhi. Bureau Report