Targeting at least a 10-million per month growth in mobile telephony
in India, the telecom service providers have decided to jump on to the
rural telephony bandwagon in a big way through discounts on tariff
packages to rural subscribers.
On Monday, all mobile service providers jointly announced that they
would focus on rural telephony so that the government can achieve the
key objective of taking wireless telephony to the rural hinterland.
It is important for the government to meet its Bharat Nirman target as
elections are quite close. As for telecom operators, they require
spectrum immediately to run and expand their services in the urban
areas. In rural areas, where the teledensity is still in low single
digit, mobile phone operators are eyeing a growth story.
So, the offer of telcos on rural telephony is quite timely, said an
industry analyst.
Industry bodies, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI)
and the Association of Unified Service Providers of India (AUSPI), are
spearheading the joint movement.
Starting May 1, mobile service providers would give each new rural
subscriber an up-front discount of Rs 50 on the tariff package, along
with free talk time worth Rs 75 over six to nine months, according to
AUSPI secretary general S.C. Khanna.
This benefit to new rural subscribers "would strongly incentivise both
the take-up as well as the usage of mobile service in rural areas and
thus help meet the rural telephony objectives of the government," said
COAI director general T.V. Ramachandran.
However, the subscriber verification processes would continue to be
carried out as before, to comply with the applicable guidelines. Also,
it would ensure that the benefit of the programme goes only to the
genuine rural subscribers.
Meet people who discuss and share your passions. Join them now.
No comments:
Post a Comment