Unified licence rings in competition in cell mart

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) announcement on unified licensing has led to another round of fierce competition in the telephony market in the state.

Both the GSM and the CDMA operators have launched new schemes in a bid to strengthen their customer base and prevent migration of subscribers to other operators.

Reliance Infocomm, which has a sizeable customer base in Gujarat and more than 50 lakh subscribers throughout the country, will provide full mobility to its customers from Wednesday.

"With full mobility, the subscriber's cellphone number will not change when he is travelling, even if he is going out of the state," said an official of the company.

Idea Cellular, which has over three lakh customers in Gujarat and has crossed the 20 lakh subscriber mark in the country, has slashed its rates in both the post- and pre-paid segments.

"The new tariff is more user-oriented and cost effective than the plans offered by any other service provider in the state," claimed an official of the company.

In the prepaid segment, Idea is offering a starter package at Rs 99 which has a built-in free talk time of Rs 19 and a validity of seven days.

In the pre-paid segment, the company is offering what it claims to be the lowest-ever monthly plan by any private operator in the country.

Idea users can go mobile at a monthly rental of Rs 99, with an outgoing call charge of Rs 2.49 per minute.

Sanjoy Mukerji, chief operating officer, Hutch, Gujarat region, said "Idea has reduced the rates in the pre-paid segment. But in the post-paid segment, the company has only reduced the rental to Rs 99. We are studying the plan and will come out with a new plan which will be more beneficial to the customers."

Under the unified licencing scheme, Tata Teleservices has applied for licences to operate WLL-based mobile service in seven more circles "" West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajashthan and Himachal Pradesh.

Though Reliance is the leading WLL operator in the state, Tata Teleservices has taken the lead in providing fixed wireless phone services in the state.

Reliance had temporarily stopped the fixed wireless phone connection as the LG telephone instrument is out of supply, said an official.

Airtel has launched a service whereby customers can buy a recharge card anywhere in the country and top up their pre-paid card.

Among the GSM operators, Hutch is the largest in the state with a customer base of more than seven lakh, followed by BSNL with more than four lakh customers.

Idea has more then three lakh customers, while Airtel, the last cellular operator to enter the state, has already crossed the one lakh mark in the state.