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Landline telephone users fume at new tariff plans
Friday, 02 May 2003, 19:30 IST
NEW DELHI: The next time you pick up your fixed line phone at home for a long, cosy chat with someone using a mobile, remember that you will be paying thrice as much as you do for calls to landlines.
And those who are already aware are fuming at the new tariff plans of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that came into effect Thursday.
"Free calls (for landline phones) have been reduced to 30 from 75, the call rates for landline to mobile phones have increased three times, the rent has been increased. This is an attempt to fleece the common man," said 28-year-old businessman Iqbal Habib Durrani.
Rajiv Ahuja, a resident of East Delhi's Mayur Vihar area, said: "The increase in landline rates is only going to increase the number of WLL (wireless in local loop) connections. This was planned by authorities and now people are falling into the trap."
He added: "TRAI's main job was to see that a level playing ground is provided to all telecom operators. But the protector seems to be playing the role of the destroyer for state owned service providers."
Until now landline users did not have any rental options. Now they have four options to choose from with varying rental rates and free calls.
State owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) would also offer a default package to those who do not wish to submit any applications.
According to the default plan, the rent for a month is 
250. Free calls have been reduced to 30 from the existing 75 and the pulse rate will also be less. For every outgoing call to a mobile, the pulse has been fixed at 60 seconds. Earlier it was 180 seconds.
L.K. Singh, a Public Call Office (PCO) booth owner in New Delhi's Connaught Place, told IANS: "Because of these new uneven pulse rates, we will have to face a lot of customers who will argue if we charge them more. We are going to have a tough time till customers realise that we are not responsible."
Durrani said: "My family will be switching to WLL. There is no point paying so much. In WLL, one will get 400 minutes of free outgoing calls, more than what MTNL offered under the old scheme. Plus, in WLL services like Reliance, one has a pulse of 15 seconds also. Isn't all this cheaper than paying so much monthly?"
Housewife Kaushambi Tewari said: "These guys (telephone operators) have understood that once incoming on mobiles is free, everyone will call there. I keep in touch with my daughter through her mobile when she is away from home. The authorities know that people like me can't stop calling mobiles once the rates increase and they are exploiting that."
Telephone shop owner Sunil Gangwani said the new scheme had left people with no option but to switch to WLL-mobile.
All the new schemes introduced will have the caller identification facility and call transferring facility included in the basic rent. Earlier, operators charged an extra fee for these services.
Other services like e-mail on phone and MTNL Internet will be offered to customers at an extra cost.
Source: IANS
250. Free calls have been reduced to 30 from the existing 75 and the pulse rate will also be less. For every outgoing call to a mobile, the pulse has been fixed at 60 seconds. Earlier it was 180 seconds.
L.K. Singh, a Public Call Office (PCO) booth owner in New Delhi's Connaught Place, told IANS: "Because of these new uneven pulse rates, we will have to face a lot of customers who will argue if we charge them more. We are going to have a tough time till customers realise that we are not responsible."
Durrani said: "My family will be switching to WLL. There is no point paying so much. In WLL, one will get 400 minutes of free outgoing calls, more than what MTNL offered under the old scheme. Plus, in WLL services like Reliance, one has a pulse of 15 seconds also. Isn't all this cheaper than paying so much monthly?"
Housewife Kaushambi Tewari said: "These guys (telephone operators) have understood that once incoming on mobiles is free, everyone will call there. I keep in touch with my daughter through her mobile when she is away from home. The authorities know that people like me can't stop calling mobiles once the rates increase and they are exploiting that."
Telephone shop owner Sunil Gangwani said the new scheme had left people with no option but to switch to WLL-mobile.
All the new schemes introduced will have the caller identification facility and call transferring facility included in the basic rent. Earlier, operators charged an extra fee for these services.
Other services like e-mail on phone and MTNL Internet will be offered to customers at an extra cost.
Source: IANS