After a hike in petroleum products, there could be an increase in the fixed line telephone rates. State owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has told the telecom regulator that it will be forced to increase tariffs for fixed line telephoneBSNL has warned that such a move could wipe out fixed telephone usage in the country as subscribers will prefer to take cellular connection.
BSNL has told the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India that while operational expenditure per line per month for rural telephones comes to Rs 643, it recovers only Rs 171 per month per subscriber.
“To recoup a part of these losses, BSNL will have to increase rental, call charges and decrease free calls in respect of its wire line services, both in urban as well as in rural area
s in case access deficit charges are withdrawn
