TelecomTalk keeps a regular track of the Indian Telecom grapevine. So here’s a weekly round-up of the news that created buzz in Indian telecom Industry for the week of 4th May, 2013 – 11th May, 2013

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A) Get Ready to Pay More as Reliance Hikes Call Rates; Cuts Down on Freebies and Discounts

In order to improve profits, Reliance Communications, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani hiked its mobile call rates for pre-paid customers by 20 – 30 percent. The new tariff is to be applied on all existing and new customers with immediate effect. Under the Commitment Plans 21 and 45, the call rates have been increased from 1paise per second earlier to 1.2 paise per second. However the company has also reduced benefits under its promotional and concessional Plans. The Commitment Plan 48 will now offer 160 local on-net minutes compared to 500 mins earlier whereas the commitment Plan 46 will offer 140 minutes Local on- net as against 200 mins earlier.

B) Nokia Unveils the Nokia Asha 501; to be available in the country from June for approx Rs. 5,350

The Finnish handset maker introduced its new ‘Asha 501’, an affordable touch screen smartphone that runs on the new Asha platform. Available in a choice of six striking colors, the Nokia Asha 501 is available in single or EasySwap Dual SIM models with Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity in both the models. It supports upto 17 hours of TalkTime with a standby time of up to 48 days in case of single SIM and upto 26 days for Dual SIM handsets. Priced at around $99 (approx 5,350), it will be available in the Indian markets from next month.

C) DoT calls for merger of BSNL and MTNL

After being kept on hold for a long time, DoT revives its plan to merge the two public sector telecom entities, BSNL and MTNL. Considering the not so good revenue figures of the two companies for the year 2012-2013, DoT has asked BSNL and MTNL to gear up for the merger. This would let the two firms to offer common plans for their customers and thus compete with its private counter parts. BSNL offers fixed line, mobile, broadband and Internet services in 20 circles other than Delhi and Mumbai, which is covered by MTNL.