Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular are the first operators to implement the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India?s (TRAI) guidelines stated in its review of national roaming tariffs.
The regulator had mandated two categories of free national roaming plans to be provided by all operators. Telecom service providers could either offer partially free roaming services or completely free roaming services (in lieu of paying fixed charges).
In line with this, Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular have launched free roaming packs for their customers. For Rs 5 per day, Bharti Airtel?s post-paid customers can avail of free incoming calls while roaming. Also, prepaid customers can avail of this offer by recharging with the Rs 79 one-time pack, which provides free incoming calls while roaming for 30 days.
Meanwhile, Idea Cellular has launched two new vouchers priced between Rs 230-Rs 240 and Rs 35-Rs 40, depending upon the circle. These vouchers peg all calls made and SMSs sent while roaming at the same price as the home circle.
Further, Idea Cellular has reduced incoming roaming charges to Re 0.75 per minute under the Rs 35-Rs 40 vouchers, while all incoming calls are free under the Rs 230-Rs 240 vouchers.
