Mobile operators in India are headed for another tariff war. This time the war is on the STD and roaming services front.

Market leader Airtel announced slashing of tariffs for STD and roaming services for its 62 million subscribers. Airtel users will now be charged Re.1.50 per minute for an STD call as compared to prevailing rates of Rs.2.65 per minute.

Further to this the mobile operator has also slashed tariffs for roaming services. All incoming calls will now be charged Re.1 per minute while currently users are charged Re.1.75 per minute. Local outgoing calls on roaming mode will now be charged Re.1 per minute and outgoing STD calls Re1.75 per minute.

Mr. Sanjay Kapoor, President, Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel, added, “This initiative spells the end of distance for our existing and prospective customers. With 70% STD customers in India using less than 5 minutes/month on STD calls and 80% mobile customers not using their phones while roaming, we have a compelling customer proposition. I am delighted that we are leading this endeavour, which strengthens our strategic plank of affordability. I am confident that this will drive growth and usage in the Indian telecom industry.”

As observed in the past other operators are likely to follow Airtel in slashing tariffs on a similar scale.