'OneIndia' tariff rollout by Jan 26

Toeing the line taken by Reliance Infocomm, other Indian telecom majors – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Tata Teleservices, Hutch and Airtel – are readying for the rollout of 'OneIndia' plans that offer a single tariff structure across various circles in the country, by January 26.

The only exception is Idea Cellular, which has no intentions of joining the bandwagon.

"The telecom players are gearing up to launch 'OneIndia' services this month, with most of them intending to launch the services by around January 26. The companies are trying to cash in on the Republic Day spirit. The rollouts will take place around January 26, maybe not on that day itself, it being a holiday," a telecom industry analyst told Business Standard.

IT and Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran had earlier announced launching the 'OneIndia' plan in January this year. And with the minister mooting the plan for the PSU, the other players are following suit.

According to Kobita Desai, principal analyst (telecom), Gartner, "All players will begin rolling out a single plan to stay buoyant in the industry and to tide over competition. Reliance Infocomm has already rolled out its 'OneIndia' plan and others will not like to be far behind."

BSNL officials said that the company was ready with the scheme and will be offering the services under its 'IndiaOne' brand.

"It is all ready, we are just waiting for approval from the higher-ups. The scheme would be launched either on Pongal day on January 14, or on Republic Day. This is yet to be finalised," they said.

When contacted, sources in TTSL were of the opinion that the "company will roll out customer-friendly initiatives and 'OneIndia' is part of the plan".

However, the exact launch date nor the tariff plan was revealed. Ditto is the case with Hutch and Airtel, with officials confirming that a similar plan is being considered and would be rolled out once the competition heats up.

Meanwhile, Idea Cellular is one company that has no intentions of joining the bandwagon. Vikram Mehmi, CEO, Idea, said, "Integrated players with their own national long distance network can take a hit on their NLD margins, but it may not be viable for pure play operators".

A 'OneIndia' plan would result in erosion of average revenue per user as the players would be offering services at lower prices, but they expect to make good the losses with increase in volume over a longer period of time.

Telecom Democracy

• The country will have a uniform STD slab for both fixed line and mobile services, irrespective of distance of calls.
  
• Reliance Infocomm as been the first off the block, with its recently-launched 'One Nation One Tariff' plan.
  
• All major operators are also drawing up plans to match the Re 1 tariff of Reliance Infocomm.