Further price cuts possible, says Raja

NEW DELHI: With tariff war hotting up, telecom minister A Raja is confident that this can lead to further reductions in the future. Replying to a query if it was possible to abolish roaming tariffs completely, after launching the schemes announced by both BSNL and MTNL, Mr Raja said: “This sector cannot remain static. Something marvellous will be done — this is just the first step.”

The minister also said that other private players would follow suit and reduce roaming tariffs within the next couple of days. “I am in touch with them on this issue,” he said.

On the 3G spectrum policy, Mr Raja said that a comprehensive policy document would be placed in the public domain for comments, after which it would be submitted to Parliament. This implies, DoT is set to miss the July deadline for announcing the policy. Mr Raja said he had asked BSNL to negotiate a lower price for the $4.8 billion contract with Ericsson and Nokia for the supply of 45.5 million GSM lines.

ET had first reported on May 3 that BSNL is likely to pay lower than the $107 per line quoted by Ericsson, when it places order on the tender of 45.5 million GSM lines. Confirming the development, Mr Raja said: “If they manage to get it at less than $100 per line, the country will save Rs 2,000 crore.”