The Hindu

Aug 14: Bharti Airtel and Hutch (now Vodafone Essar) have increased local call charges within their own network from Re. 1 a minute to Rs. 1.20 for both pre-paid and post-paid subscribers.

A similar increase has been made in local SMS rates for both types of subscribers.

Though the new rates are applicable only for subscribers of the Delhi telecom circle, a similar increase in other telecom circles across the country by both operators is likely to be announced soon. The new call charges came into effect from Monday.

Officials of both companies cited growing network maintenance costs due to spurt in mobile connections the reason behind the hike.

With the two leading mobile service providers increasing their call rates, other cellular companies are likely to raise their call rates. Only a couple of weeks ago Airtel and Hutch had hiked the STD rates nationally from Rs. 2 to Rs. 2.40 for post-paid subscribers and Rs. 2.65 for pre-paid subscribers. A few other telecom companies had also increased their rates recently.