BSNL to cut call charges by up to half
Indian state-run telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) will cut call rates by up to half, catching up with more nimble competitors as it looks to gain share in the world’s fastest-growing wireless services market.
From Wednesday, the lowest rate BSNL’s 41.3 million mobile customers will pay for a long-distance call will be 1.20 rupees, the company said on Monday. Fixed-line users will pay as low as 80 paise for a similar call.
BSNL is the country’s top telecoms firm by total user numbers, but its mobile subscriber numbers lag Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Vodafone Essar, mainly due to a lack of network infrastructure.
Bharti cut long-distance and roaming tariffs in April, a move matched by Vodafone in May. Reliance Communications similarly now offers unlimited national long-distance calls within its network for a fixed rental.
Cheap call rates are a key reason for Indian mobile firms signing up more than 8 million mobile users each month. At the end of April, India had 269.3 million mobile users, second only to China in the world. Bharti had 64.4 million customers, Reliance 47.4 million and Vodafone 45.8 million.
BSNL’s call rate cuts were made possible by its plans to add capacity to its network, which will allow it to add users faster, Chairman and Managing Director Kuldeep Goyal said.


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