BSNL to offer free roaming services from June 15

DoT working on disincentives for operators on frequent call drops

Mobile subscribers of state-run telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will be able to avail free roaming services across India from June 15, minister for communications and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said while talking about the one-year achievements of his ministry. BSNL had a mobile subscriber base of 77.2 million at the end of March.

At present, BSNL earns about Rs 150 crore from roaming rates, BSNL chairman and managing director Anupam Shrivastava said. He said, though the roaming revenues will come down, the company expects new subscriber additions going forward because of the free roaming facility. The company operates across India except Delhi and Mumbai where its sister concern Mahanagar Telephone Nigam (MTNL) operates.

Recently, all telecom operators including BSNL, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Cellular had reduced roaming tariffs by 20-40 per cent for their users after telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) reduced ceiling tariffs for roaming charges.

According to an expert, private telecom players may not follow suit as it is a marketing gimmick by BSNL to attract more users and reduce the churn rate.

The announcement of free roaming by BSNL comes ahead of full mobile number portability (MNP), which is set to roll out from July. It will allow mobile users to retain their numbers across India even after shifting circles/ or states.

Earlier, full MNP was to be implemented from May 3. For implementation of full MNP, operators’ networks have to be reconfigured to treat a mobile user’s calls in a new circle as local and vice versa.

In January 2011, MNP was launched across the country, but only to change service providers within a circle or state. About 150.01 million MNP requests have been received till the end of February, according to data from Trai. “The government is committed to the revival of both BSNL and MTNL and the turnaround has already started,” he said.

Prasad said, "Call drops need to be minimised. They (private operators) need to reinforce their mechanism. I have directed officials in the department to work on disincentive architecture (for the operators)," he said.

Telecom secretary Rakesh Garg has asked the member (technology) in department of telecom (DoT) to work on the matter and if required, it will be sent to Trai for suggestions. A final call is expected to be taken in the next six months.

THE OFFER

• BSNL free national roaming starts June 15
   
• Move to benefit over 75 million customers
   
• Loss to be offset by arresting port outs, new customers