Mahanagar Telecom Nigam (MTNL) has gained an international long distance licence, reports PTI. This could further bring down International Subscriber Dialling (ISD) rates as MTNL plans to carry its own traffic soon.

The licence agreement in this regard was signed with the Department of Telecom (DoT) today. Even though MTNL may have to depend on other networks for some time, it will focus on carrying its own ILD traffic. At present, most of MTNL’s ISD traffic is being routed through Videsh Sanchar Nigam (VSNL).

Currently, ISD calls from mobile to the US, Europe, Gulf and Africa are charged between Rs 6.40 and 9.20 per minute, while the landline ISD calls are charged Rs 5.99 per minute to the US on an average.

When MTNL carries its own ILD, its costs would come down to a great extent. The major players in the ISD segment such as the state run BSNL, Bharti, and Reliance, will now face more competition.

The MTNL operators for Mumbai and Delhi are pursuing an undersea cable project which would enable them to carry their own ISD traffic. BSNL has withdrawn from the project to link India to Singapore and Malaysia. X

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