MTNL, BSNL announces OneIndia scheme

The state owned telecom companies MTNL and BSNL have finally announced the much-anticipated OneIndia plans for their telephone subscribers. Both the companies are now offering one-minute calls on landlines and WLL phones at Re 1 and one-minute calls for 40 paisa on mobiles.

This kind of scheme was long demanded by the Indian government and after giving much consideration to the consequences, both MTNL and BSNL have finally launched the scheme. Consumers would be able to opt for this plan from the beginning of next month.

The plans would have rental of Rs 299 for fixed lines as well as WLL phones (currently Rs 250 in urban centers, and Rs 50-180 in rural centers). This scheme is now expected to heat up the telecom market and we might see similar plans from private operators like Airtel, Reliance, and Tata Indicom.

A.K. Sinha, CMD, BSNL said in a statement on these new plans: ‘‘There is a feeling we had opposed OneIndia. We had not. We have introduced a scheme that we are sure customers will opt for.” The company has clarified that the delays are due to technical problems and not because they are afraid of losing too much money in the deal.

BSNL also added that increased traffic on its networks would more than compensate for a Rs 3,000 crore dip in revenues it expects because of the lower tariffs.