Amongst the cheapest in the world, the mobile telephony tariffs in India are all set to fall further. India’s telecom regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) is planning to ask all the operators to consider per-second pulse as a mandatory tariff option along with their other tariff plans.

“We plan to ask operators to charge customers on a per-second basis so that consumers can enjoy the benefit of paying only for their usage,” The Economic Times quoted J S Sarma, chairman, TRAI as saying. He was speaking on the sidelines of the ITU World Summit in Geneva.

The timeframe for implementing this per-second-billing plan is currently not specified. TRAI is planning to first issue a consultation paper on the subject. According to existing regulations, TRAI can issue a directive only after seeking the industry’s view on the subject, added Sharma. TRAI would make it mandatory for telcos to ensure that their new tariff plans were fully transparent.

Some telecom companies including Tata DoCoMo, BSNL and Aircel have already launched per-second pulse rate plan in India. However, such tariff plans only help the telecom players expand their penetration and market share. Last week, BSNL introduced one paise per second pulse (for local calls) and two paise per second pulse (for STD) in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. Aircel also extended its pay-per-second calling plan from Calcutta and Orissa to Uttar Pradesh last week.

Source: EFY Times