Last week we had covered about TRAI criticizing the DoT for not taking up the issue of Intra Operator NLD by means of Calling Cards and VoIP Inland long distance services.
Today, the Telecom Commission has given the necessary approval and the DoT will very soon allow NLD / STD Calling Cards to be retailed. However, due to Toll FREE Number incompatibility in India, it will remain a challenge to calling card service providers to get users on the platform as they have to make a local call and then the STD / NLD. Large B2B Bandwidth carriers like RailTel, Powergrid, AT&T, Verizon Business Services will benefit from the Calling Card regime.
The Telecom Commission ruling has come at a stage when it doesn’t make much difference as STD calls are already Rs 1.0 / minute on most mobile networks with a Rs 35 or Rs 50 add on Pack every month. It will make sense if user is given an option to dial a toll FREE number and from there make an STD call at Rs 0.5 / minute.
The Telecom Commission has not approved inland VoIP / Net Calling services. Its the Telecom lobby that raised its voice against inland VoIP services. Had they approved this, they would have done something good for the consumers, but who cares 🙂
