Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, which announced flexible tariff plans for their fixed-line subscribers, said their revenues will not be hit as higher usage will offset losses, if any.
For the operators, increased revenues from fixed-line operations will, however, have to wait. "Our intention is not to increase revenue but ensure that we comply with the regulations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and make sure that the customer is not over burdened," a BSNL executive said.
BSNL executives said while they will lose some revenue on account of higher free calls in alternate tariff plans, a system of differential pulse rates will make up for the loss. "The question was of retention of subscribers and with more calls terminating on our networks, revenues won't be affected," a senior executive said.
Executives said with nearly half the subscribers paying slightly over the monthly rental, about 50 per cent of the revenue stream will not be hit. "The other half will determine the extent of loss or profits and we expect that we will not fare badly as a result of the new packages," an executive said.
According to BSNL's estimates, over 15 per cent of its subscribers were billed over Rs 1,650 a month. As per the special plan for urban users, subscribers will get 1,800 free calls on a rental of Rs 1,650 and will have to pay Rs 1.10 beyond this level.
With about 3 per cent of the subscribers paying over Rs 50,000 a month for using fixed line services, the heavy users will benefit with cheaper local calls. "Long-distance calls form a significant part of their bill which we have not tinkered with," a source said.
In MTNL's case, around 5 per cent fixed-line subscribers fall in this category. "Even if they take the Rs 2,000 plan, they will get 2,000 calls free beyond which they will have to pay Re 1 per call so it will not be a loss-making proposition," an executive said.
Even in case of Internet access from a fixed line where the pulse rate has been increased from 3 minutes to 10 minutes for access between 10.30 pm and 6.30 am, BSNL executives said the service provider will not lose revenue.
"Our capacity is usually lying idle during these hours as it's mainly residential subscribers and students who access the Internet at that hour. With lower tariffs the usage will go up," an executive said.