The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has slashed ceilings on national roaming tariff and has allowed telecom operators to provide free nationwide roaming to subscribers through Special Tariff Vouchers and combo packs.
The TRAI has also restricted national roaming tariff on outgoing local calls at Re. 1 per minute and Rs. 1.50 per minute on STD calls. Earlier, the ceiling tariff prescribed by the regulator was Rs. 1.40 per minute for outgoing local and Rs. 2.40 per minute for outgoing STD calls during roaming.
Limit on incoming calls during roaming has been capped at 75p per minute, down from Rs. 1.75 per minute. Tariffs for outgoing SMS local and STD while on national roaming have been capped at Re 1 per SMS and Rs. 1.50 per SMS respectively. Incoming SMS will remain free.
The new system will come into effect from July 1.
It’s notable the TRAI has permitted for a partial free roaming system not a full-fledged one.
Explaining the reason behind the move, the TRAI says, “…There are still real costs incurred in providing the national roaming facility. Mandating a fully free regime is simply not practicable at this juncture. Compelling a transition to a fully free national roaming regime would result in telecom service providers not being able to recover their costs from roamers. In turn, telecom service providers would pass these costs on to all consumers (predominantly non-roamers) through their higher tariffs.”
The latest decision of the TRAI is likely to benefit all subscribers. Competitive pricing below the new ceiling levels is expected whereas the STVs and combo vouchers as well as special tariff plans and roaming tariff will cater to the specific roaming needs of different customer segments. Also, the move will not lead to increased burden on customers, especially those who don’t use the roaming facility.