BSNL order may raise roaming charges

PUNE: Roaming access facility on mobile phones, starting September 15, may

cost a bomb, thanks to a recent directive from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL).

According to BSNL, all calls originating in one circle (usually one state

except the four metros that are treated as separate circles) and concluding in

another would be routed through a single point of hand-over. This means a call

from, for example, Pune to Mumbai would travel to Nagpur, the only point of

hand-over in the state and then to Mumbai.

Hence, a cellphone subscriber in Mumbai would have to pay STD charges for the

Nagpur-Mumbai leg as well as take into account the airtime charges. Result: A

Pune-Mumbai call with airtime charges could cost Rs 18 per minute or more.

For cellular operators, this could possibly mean a closure of the

inter-circle facility to their subscribers. Vijay Grover, chief operating

officer, Birla AT&T Communications Ltd. said, "This has been happening

some sometime. But we never expected this."

The Cellular Operators Association of India had earlier filed a case with the

Tribunal Appellate Authority of Telecom protesting against the BSNL order. But

they withdrew the case last month.

Grover argued that the cellular operators had been protesting the change of

gateway to Nagpur. "Earlier, the customers had to bear the usual STD

charges for a call from Pune to Mumbai. Now they have to also pay for the

incoming leg to Nagpur. Customers in Mumbai, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and

Karnataka are likely to be affected by this order," he said.

BSNL sources said they would recover the cost of this routing from the mobile

phone companies.

Meanwhile, the Cellular Operators Association has made a representation to

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and Union Information Technology

minister Pramod Mahajan in this regard.

Following September 15, operators plan to unconditionally clamp down calls to

Mumbai. Customers would be informed about the change and would be asked if they

wished to opt for the roaming facility.