The price wars in the communication business have begun with the entry of Reliance Infocom. Airtel fired the first salvo to counter the challenge posed by Reliance Infocom. They reportedly reduced the peak rate for STD form Mobile to mobile to 1/3 of what it was, but if you read between the lines, the reduction is only by1/2 and not 1/3 as is being highlighted. It is always convenient for these large companies to highlight the area where they have made the cut without actually telling you the extent of benefit you are going to reap.The crunch matter is said in the sidelines or as a postscript.
To clarify let us see what the customer will actually be paying.Airtel has said that the peak rate for STD beyond 50 KM from mobile to mobile has been reduced from Rs 9/- to Rs 2.99 for one minute thus highlighting a reduction to 1/3 of the original peak rate.What they do not highlight is that the airtime will be in addition to this. Now see what the user will be paying as per the new tariffs.For a cal of one minute, the STD tariff will be Rs 2.99 and the airtime will be Rs 2.98 (Rs 1.49 for a 30 second pulse) making a total of Rs 5.97, which can be rounded off to Rs 6/- .Earlier the users were paying Rs 9/- for STD and Rs 2.98 for airtime, making a total of Rs 11.98 sa Rs 12/- when rounded off.It is clear that the rate has only been reduced from Rs 12/ to Rs 6/- i.e. to ½ of the existing rate and not 1/3 as being claimed by them.
It is not to say that the company has not reduced the peak rates, but has actually fooled the users into believing that they are getting a bigger reduction than they actually are.