No talking cheap now! Call, sms rates hiked

Your mobile phone rates will go up as private GSM operators have hiked local SMS tariffs by a flat 20 per cent.

Hutch was the first to hike SMS tariffs but big boy Airtel followed suit just hours later. Infact, local call rates in the capital have also been hiked by 20 per cent. This hike in tariffs cannot be viewed in isolation as it comes on the back of a quiet increase in STD tariffs over the last 15 days.

Almost all the private GSM players have hiked STD tariffs by a little over 10 per cent. Airtel, Hutch and Idea hiked their STD tariffs for prepaid customer from Rs 2.40 per minute to Rs 2.65 per minute.

A couple of months ago all private GSM players decided not to cut roaming tariffs despite state owned BSNL and RCOM and Tata Tele doing so.

The regulator and the government are keeping a close watch. Telecom Minister Andimuthu Raja has gone on record to say there is room for tariffs to come down. But since it’s the domain of the regulator Raja says he will meet TRAI chairman Nripendra Misra to see how much headroom there is.
Telecom Operators say tariffs can come down only if the government brings down licence fees.