Concerned that the prevailing charges for roaming services display a significant lack of competition, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has undertaken a consultation process to review the existing ceiling tariffs.

The roaming tariffs imposed by the government in 2002 included a maximum monthly rental of Rs 100, maximum roaming airtime charges of Rs 3 per minute, a maximum surcharge of 15 per cent on the airtime component and public switched telephone network (PSTN) charges as applicable from time to time on the fixed network. Tariffs for international roaming services were kept in forbearance.

Tariff trends
Since then, roaming tariffs have witnessed a reduction. For example, the composite roaming charges paid by GSM subscribers of private players making or receiving intercircle calls declined from Rs 13.05 in February 2002 to the current Rs 3.99 per minute for a distance slab of 500 km and above.

This decline took place in successive stages over the years and can be attributed to decreases in the PSTN charges. In May 2005, the per minute tariff fell from Rs 5.15 to Rs 3.99 as GSM service providers reduced their roaming airtime charge from Rs 3 to Rs 1.99.

Current scenario
The current scenario can be characterised by the following key features:
Intra-circle roaming calls

  • Private GSM operators, including Bharti Airtel, Idea Cellular and Hutchison Essar, levy tariffs ranging from Rs 2.89 to Rs 3.09 per minute for local outgoing calls while roaming. There is no distinction in these rates between prepaid and post-paid subscribers.
  • As opposed to the monthly rental ceiling of Rs 100 for roaming services, operators are charging Rs 49.
  • Local mobile-to-mobile calls cost Rs 2.89 while roaming. However, local calls to landlines and BSNL CellOne subscribers cost Rs 3.09.
  • In comparison, BSNL’s GSM charges are Rs 1.50 per minute for a local outgoing call while roaming.
  • CDMA operators such as Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communications have different roaming rates for post-paid and prepaid customers.
  • While for post-paid customers, local outgoing calls are charged at the same rate as that for home network usage, prepaid users are usually charged between Re 1 and Rs 3 per minute.
  • For long-term validity plan users, both BSNL (GSM) and CDMA operators charge relatively higher roaming tariffs.

Intercircle roaming calls

  • Private GSM operators offer distancebased roaming tariffs for intercircle outgoing and incoming calls, ranging from Rs 3.09 per minute for a distance slab of 0-50 km to Rs 3.99 per minute for a distance slab of over 500 km.
  • For intercircle outgoing and incoming calls, BSNL charges its GSM roaming subscribers a distance-neutral roaming tariff of Rs 2.40 per minute and Rs 2 per minute for all outgoing and incoming calls respectively. The corresponding tariffs for lifetime validity plan users are a uniform Rs 3 per minute.
  • CDMA operators levy a distanceneutral intercircle incoming and outgoing roaming tariff which ranges from Re 1 to Rs 3.99 per minute for prepaid subscribers.
  • Post-paid CDMA subscribers pay rates linked to their home network plans.
  • There are also special tariff packages that offer roaming services at around Re 1 per minute for all types of calls, provided subscribers roam on their own networks.However, subscribers have to pay higher monthly rentals of Rs 300 and above.

SMS charges

  • While private GSM operators charge Rs 3.45 per outgoing SMS while roaming, CDMA operators charge as per the home tariff plan for outgoing SMSs. BSNL’s GSM subscribers pay Re 0.80 to Re 1 per SMS.

    • On analysing the current scenario, TRAI has come up with the following findings on roaming tariff:

  • The roaming tariff structure is complex and there is considerable scope for making it more transparent for the consumer.
  • Private GSM operators have a uniform charging pattern along with a uniform level of roaming tariffs.
  • CDMA operators have recently hiked tariffs for roaming services and in a few cases their tariffs exceed those of private GSM operators.
  • Roamers pay charges for receiving mobile calls, which is contrary to the calling-party-pays principle. This is relevant in the Indian context because the service area is based on a circle unlike many other countries where the entire country is treated as one service area.

    Moreover, according to TRAI, while the cost per minute for providing roaming services has decreased substantially over the last few years, the reduction in tariffs is not commensurate with it.

    Over the years, not only have telecom companies experienced substantial growth in their subscriber bases and consequently, minutes of usage, but the government has also undertaken a series of legislative changes. These include fixing of costbased interconnection usage charges (IUC), reduction in carriage charges, shift in access deficit charge (ADC) regime from a per minute basis to a revenue-share basis, and reduction in the licence fee payable by operators on the adjusted gross revenue (AGR).

    Keeping this in mind, TRAI has made several suggestions regarding the pricing framework. One option would be to revise the existing roaming tariffs by fixing a ceiling that is based on usage. Consequently, no rental should be charged for availing of roaming services.

    The ceiling tariffs would be as per the cost of the service provided. This implies separate composite ceiling tariffs for local incoming, local outgoing, intercircle incoming, and intercircle outgoing roaming services respectively.

    For instance, the charge for a local incoming call while roaming would encompass the cost of carriage from the roaming subscriber’s home network to the visiting network, the termination charge at the visiting network, ADC, the incremental cost of providing roaming services, and so forth.

    Alternatively, a “home pricing rule” could be evolved. Under this approach, a Delhi mobile subscriber who is roaming in Mumbai, for instance, will be charged the same rates as his home network for making calls in Mumbai. Roamers would also not be charged for incoming calls from Mumbai.

    The rule treats a subscriber’s visiting network as if it was the home network. However, the roaming subscriber would have to pay STD rates for making and receiving calls to any other network aside from the one he is currently using. For example, the mobile subscriber would have to pay STD rates for calls to Delhi or any other destination besides Mumbai.

    TRAI has also questioned the relevance of the 15 per cent surcharge on the airtime component. The authority is of the view that when all costs relevant for provision of roaming services have been taken into account, there is no justification for the levy of any surcharge.

    Finally, it has been observed that there is no incremental cost associated with providing SMS facilities to a roaming subscriber. Hence, there appears to be no justification for levying an additional charge for outgoing SMSs while roaming.

    In sum, consumers may indeed look forward to more talktime while roaming. With TRAI inviting comments from stakeholders on its consultation paper, the path has been paved for cheaper roaming tariffs.