BSNL cuts call charges to US, UK by 70%

 Bharti Cellular has also announced a 40 per cent cut in international long-distance tariffs from Rs 16 a minute to Rs 9.99 a minute for three days during Diwali. Later, the reduced tariffs will apply on all weekends and to all destinations.

 In the case of BSNL, all calls to the US, Canada and European countries, except the UK, will cost Rs 9.60 a minute, against a peak time tariff of Rs 24 a minute.

 Calls to the UK will cost Rs 7.20 a minute. BSNL charges Rs 21.18 per minute during off-peak hours, between 8 pm and 8 am, and on holidays. There will be no separate off-peak tariff during the month.

 The reduced tariffs will be available to all BSNL landline subscribers, PCOs, cellular and limited mobility users. Cellular and limited mobility subscribers currently pay Rs 16 a minute for international calls. BSNL has also increased the pulse rate from 3 seconds to 10 for calls to the US and 7.5 seconds for calls to the UK.

 There is no change in char- ges on calls to other countries.

 Prithipal Singh, chairman and managing director, BSNL said: "We have seen that international operators in countries like the UK reduce tariffs on calls to India during the festive season. Our customers should also benefit during the season. We may continue the scheme if the response is good."

 Analysts point out that BSNL will not lose much revenue on these reduced tariffs because most of the outbound traffic to the US and UK is from Delhi and Mumbai, where BSNL does not operate.

 BSNL's international long-distance revenue comes mainly from states like Kerala, where the outbound traffic is mostly to the Persian Gulf countries. However, subscribers in states like Punjab, which have a lot of expatriates in Canada and the UK, will benefit.