TRAI Proposes to Bring Down National Roaming Rates by 80 Percent
There is some good piece of news for those who live away from home and are connected to their loved ones only through their smartphones. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has proposed to trim down roaming rates by minimum 35 percent to maximum 80 percent on call and SMS.
A draft amendment was filed by TRAI on Friday to the Telecommunication Tariff Order, 1999, seeking comments and suggestions from the stakeholders. The organization aims to slash the high prices on incoming and outgoing calls while on roaming, along with SMS charges.
Home network is comparatively cheaper than the roaming connection. Whenever a person moves out of his/her home network, the network latches on to the visited connection. For now, the outgoing local call rate on roaming is at Re. 1 per minute, and as per TRAI’s proposal, it would cut down to 65 paise per minute.
The proposed draft amendment speaks of Re. 1 per minute charge on STD calls on roaming, which is presently static at Rs. 1.5 per minute. If the draft comes into effect, the roaming rates on incoming calls will fall down to 45 paise per minute from 75 paise, which is a straight 60% drop on the current charges.
Speaking of SMS rates, TRAI has proposed that on roaming, a local SMS should be charged 20 paise rather than Re. 1. An STD SMS should cost no more than 25 paise for which Rs. 1.50 is deducted.
Meanwhile, the proposal is under consideration from the stakeholders, who will give their final take on the same by 13th March. Later, after a discussion between the two parties, the final order will be passed.
