The regulator TRAI has sought views on review of tariff for national roaming from the stakeholders in view of the changes in regimes governing some of the cost components which formed part of the national roaming charges, the Authority decided to conduct a comprehensive review.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday released consultation paper which analyzes the pros and cons of different approaches to the regulation of tariffs for national roaming.

“The possibility of mandating free national roaming as envisaged in National Telecom Policy, 2012 has been deliberated in the Consultation Paper with a detailed impact analysis”, it said.

In December last year, Union Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal had announced that the roaming will be free in 2013. Sibal had said that the proposal required Cabinet approval.

The National Telecom Policy (NTP) provides for abolition of roaming charges and allows users to retain the same number across the country.

In addition, the paper also seeks the views of stakeholders on the tariff regime for video calls and SMS while on national roaming and on the desirability of allowing Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs) for national roaming service.

The written comments on the issues raised in the consultation paper are invited from the stakeholders by 18th March, 2013.

At present, mobile users pay around 60 paise a minute in their home market while shelling out Rs 1.25-1.50 a minute while roaming in another telecom circle.
 
Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India, the industry group that represents the GSM lobby had said the move will benefit only 10% of the customers.
 
Another apprehension is that the telecom operators may hike tariff in order to make up for the losses incurred on roaming charges front.

For Latest Updates Visit: http://www.facebook.com/pages/TelecomTiger/429104257149437