Cellular operators and other limited mobility operators have taken a guarded approach to the tariffs announced by Reliance Infocomm on Friday.

Putting up a brave face, cellular firms said at the first glance the Reliance tariffs does not seem to be 'predatory' and can be matched.

"Most subscribers who are left in the market are the pre-paid card types who will not pay anything more than Rs 300 a month. Reliance package is a niche package. Very few customers will go for this," said a Delhi-based cellular operator.

"At 40 paise a minute, the tariffs does not seem to be devastating as we thought it would be. Cellular operators have enough arsenal up their sleeves to counter this," said a senior cellular industry source.

One possible response by cellular service providers would be a "home zone" tariff for customers who want to restrict themselves to a particular city.

The idea behind such a move is to help customers compare GSM tariffs with WLL tariffs. Cellular firms are also looking at offering a pan-India tariff to counter Reliance's single tariff plan.

T V Ramachandran, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India, refused to comment on the tariffs but said, "We hope that Reliance extends the same long distance rates which it is offering to its own basic services arm. There has to be a fair interconnect term as per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India guidelines."

Narendra Sharma, chairman and managing director, MTNL, said, "Whatever Reliance can do even we can also do. We have our own advantages and we will continue to offer the lowest tariffs in the market."

BSNL also said that it will match Reliance's tariffs. Cell firms also said that Reliance will not be able to offer roaming facility like cellular operators.

But Reliance may not have fired its last salvo yet. The package announced is just the first. Company sources say that more tariff plans will be unveiled soon.