MTNL Joins The Race To Slash Tariffs

The race to reduce 3G tariffs by private players has now been joined in by the state-owned telecom operator, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL). It has revised its 3G tariff plans in Delhi and Mumbai fearing subscriber migration. (See Airtel Cuts 3G Tariff By 70%, Idea Slashes 3G Tariff and IndiaWatch: Vodafone Also Cuts 3G Tariffs.)

According to industry sources, MTNL will now be providing a 1.5-GB usage at INR 350 and a 500-MB usage at INR 149, compared to Bharti Airtel Ltd.'s INR 250-pack for a 1-GB usage and INR 149-pack for a 300-MB usage in Delhi NCR. Vodafone India and Idea Cellular Ltd. are both providing 1 GB-usage in Delhi for INR 249 after the reduction. MTNL's revised tariffs will come into effect from June 1, 2012 in both Delhi and Mumbai.

The cash strapped operator has thus reclaimed its tag of being an affordable service provider. But the countrys largest government-run telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) is yet to follow suit. BSNL's 3G tariffs are still quite costly for data-hungry subscribers.

Today, a BSNL user has to pay quite a bit more than a user of a private operator. For instance, a BSNL subscriber has to pay INR 403 for a 1 GB, 3G usage in the Karnatka circle, compared to the INR 255- and INR 375-packs of Bharti Airtel Ltd. and Vodafone India respectively for a similar usage limit.

In the current scenario, it will be tough for BSNL to replicate MTNLs move. (See BSNL Seeks to Surrender BWA Spectrum, Should BSNL Return 3G Spectrum As Well? and BSNL May Go For A Tariff Hike.) In order to sustain its subscriber base on the data front, the operator will have to eventually come up with new schemes to tackle the aggressive pricing of its competitors.

Rimit Singh, Correspondent, Light Reading India