BSNL Chairman and Managing Director, Anupam Shrivastav, has announced that the Government owned telco will be slashing the prices of their 3G Data services by 50 percent.
However this isn’t going to happen overnight.
BSNL plans to cut the prices only when Phase 8 of its network expansion is completed. Here’s why:
“We estimate that 3G data rates can be reduced by at least 50 per cent compared to prevailing rates under phase 8 of our network expansion,” Shrivatsav said, adding ”We have utilised over 90 percent of 3G capacity. If we reduce tariff right now, there can be sudden increase in traffic and network may not be able to bear the load. Once we expand this capacity to handle adequate traffic under phase 8, we will reduce rates,”
BSNL’s current 3G tariff rates are: 1 GB of 3G Internet for Rs. 175, and 2GB for Rs. 251. The company’s planned priced cuts would bring down the costs to Rs.88 for 1GB, and Rs. 126 for 2GB.
BSNL’s Phase 7 Network Expansion Plan is expected to be completed by June. Work has begun on Phase 8, and tenders for the same will be issued in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2015-16, i.e (April – June 2015). The company is adding support for IPv6, to handle the increase in mobile data traffic. Phase 8 will bring 3G (integrated with WiFi hotspots) to 2,500 cities and towns in the Country, by the end of next year.
If BSNL slashes the prices of their 3G services to , other telcos may be forced to follow, because that’s how a market works.
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