In The draft telecom policy 2011, which might soon replace the decade old existing framework in the sector, proposes a one nation-one licence regime for mobile phones. If the roaming charges paid by users when travelling in India are abolished, it would bring down the monthly bills of the frequent travellers, but at the same time, it would dent the revenues of the telecom companies.
However, the draft is silent on how long it will take to put the time frame in place. In most countries the concept of domestic roaming is absent. Even in large countries like USA, people can move from one part the country to other without any fear of roaming charges. But this is because countries like USA have a single permit for mobile operators.
The one India policy could not be implemented in India, because the country has been divided into 22 circles and consumers shell out a fee for using their phones when they move out of their circles. The new policy, scheduled to be unveiled by the year-end, also proposes to expand mobile number portability and allow consumers to retain their numbers when they move to a new city or any location in the country without having to pay roaming charges.
As of now the MNP scheme, which allows a customer to retain his or her mobile number while switching operators, is restricted to a circle. For instance, a customer from Delhi can only switch his operator in the metro, if he moves to Mumbai, he cannot opt for a new operator in that city. The operators are likely to oppose any move to do away with roaming charges. This is because currently about 10 percent of the operators revenues come from roaming charges, which have been estimated to be around, Rs 13,000-14,000 crores.
Under current rules, a mobile phone company can charge a maximum of Rs 1.40 per minute for a local call for a mobile user travelling outside his home network while for STD calls, the limit is Rs 2.40 per minute for all outgoing and Rs 1.75 per minute for all incoming calls while on roaming, irrespective of the distance.
Add new comment