Reliance subscribers can make calls at Re 1/min

CDMA major Reliance Infocomm has pre-empted Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran's "OneIndia" plan - an initiative to provide uniform call rates across the country  - by launching its own "One Nation, One Tariff" plan.

The Anil Ambani-controlled company on Sunday rolled out a tariff plan, under which it will offer calls anywhere in India at Re 1 per minute, on both pre- and post-paid services.

"This is our New Year's gift to subscribers. They can now exchange greetings without worrying much about the calling rates. Coming close on the heels of the 'Lifetime validity voucher', this plan will further increase the options for our subscribers," Reliance Infocomm president (wireless) SP Shukla said.

A subscriber can make calls from a Reliance IndiaMobile handset to any phone, both mobile and fixed line, irrespective of the operator. Reliance Infocomm, the flagship company of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises group, had a subscriber base of around 7 million on December 31, 2005.

The scheme has taken industry watchers and competitors by storm. According to sources, companies such as Orange, Hutch and Tata are studying the offer and might react only after they are clear about the details. They also added that it would take a couple of days to roll out a similar plan.

On the pre-paid front, the one-nation-one-tariff plan will be applicable on e-recharge of Rs 1,100, inclusive of service tax. The Rs 1,100 voucher is being launched with 1,100 free SMSes that can be sent within a particular state and comes with talk time worth Rs 1,000.

For its post-paid customers, the telecom major has launched "New Joy 499" - a scheme under the same plan.

The scheme also enables users to make calls to any phone in the country at Re 1 per 60-second pulse, in addition to calls to any RIM phone within the state at 40 paise a minute.

The one-nation-one-tariff cuts long distance calls by a minimum of 50 per cent, as the lowest existing tariff of certain operators is Rs 1.99 per minute for an STD call.

This follows an array of similar "customer-friendly" schemes from Reliance Infocomm, including the earlier launched "Monsoon Hungama", "Freedom Tariff", six and 12 months incoming free scheme and the most recent Rs 180 SMS top-up voucher that allows 18,000 SMSes to be sent in six months.