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G. Rambabu

NEW DELHI, April 22

DID you know that international calls routed through the gateways of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL), the sole international long-distance (ILD) operator in the country, are cheaper by 14 to 17 per cent starting April 1?

Chances are you don't. Now under the Tata group, VSNL has still not gone public with these rates which have been mandated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Even its official Web site (www.vsnl.com) does not mention the new tariff structure of ISD calls.

As per the third tranche of tariff rebalancing announced by TRAI in March, the new ceilings on international call tariffs levied by the ILD operator(s) were effectively 14-17 per cent down, depending on the region to where the call is made.

According to industry observers, in contrast, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the country's largest basic and national long-distance operator, issued a public statement in the last week of March that its subscribers will be paying less for their international calls.

Analysts say one reason why VSNL is silent could be that the company is waiting for the announcements on the tariff rates of Bharti Telesonic and Data Access Ltd, the two private operators who are due to launch their operations soon. While Bharti has already announced a close to 40 per cent cut in tariffs, Data Access is believed to be matching these rates, if not bettering them, they point out.

VSNL is therefore expected to reveal its new tariff structure any day now. Meanwhile, public call offices are using this "lack of awareness'' among the public and are charging old rates.

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