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BSNL, MTNL to match cell phone tariff cuts
January 02, 2003 20:04 IST
The government owned telecom companies -- Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd -- said on Thursday that they would match the private cellular operators' mobile-to-mobile STD rate cut to Rs 2.99 per minute beyond 50 kms.
"We are working out a competitive package but we will have to take Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's approval," Prithipal Singh, CMD of BSNL said.
Asked whether BSNL would match the rate, Singh said: "We can offer even better rates." MTNL, which operates Dolphin cellular services in two metros of Delhi and Mumbai, said they would be announcing new mobile-to-mobile STD tariffs soon.
When contacted, MTNL CMD Narinder Sharma said: "Obviously we will have to match the rates and we will be announcing that shortly."
Earlier, while announcing the tariff cuts on behalf of the private cellular operators, Communication and IT Minister Pramod Mahajan said: "Both PSUs (MTNL, BSNL) will have to take note of today's tariff cut and I presume everybody will have to match the rates to retain and gain customers."
MTNL sources said that they were not consulted by the Cellular Operators Association of India about Thursday's decision to slash mobile-to-mobile STD rates.
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