The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today said cellular operators cannot charge more than Rs 3 per minute as airtime rates for national roaming. At present, cellular operators charge around Rs 10 per minute as airtime charges when the subscriber is using the roaming facility.
Trai has also said cellular operators cannot charge any entry fee for providing roaming facilities and has also set an upper limit of Rs 100 as monthly rental. Cellular operators currently charge anywhere between Rs 75 and Rs 100 per month for national roaming. The new tariffs will be applicable from March 1, 2002.
At present, revenues from roaming account for about 6-7 per cent of total revenues, according to COAI officials. Therefore, any impact on the bottomlines of the cellular companies will be to that extent.