Diwali Dhamaka: ISD cheaper by 70%

NEW DELHI: Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.(BSNL), has cut call rates to the United States, Canada and Europe by 55 to 70 percent as part of a month-long festival offer.

The state-own firm said in a statement on Monday a one-minute call to the United States, Canada and continental Europe will cost 9.60 rupees a minute and 7.20 rupees a minute to the UK from October 22.

Calls to these countries cost 24 rupees a minute during peak hours and 21.18 rupees a minute during off-peak hours.

The new rates will run until November 21 as part of its offer for Diwali. India's long-distance calls market is estimated at $1.5 billion a year.

BSNL, formed in October 2000 after the government privatised the state-owned phones department, has an 85 percent share of India's booming telecoms market.

It offers a range of services, including fixed-line, mobile, Internet access and long-distance services across the country, except New Delhi and Bombay.

A monopoly until the mid-1990s, when the government threw open the industry to private companies, BSNL competes with Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd, the Indian unit of Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa Ltd and several other firms.

Reuters