A report prepared by Sri Lanka based research organization LIRNEasia stated that the roaming charge in SAARC countries is as high as 345 times of a local call.[break]
According to the findings, a Nepali subscriber using international roaming in India will have to pay 78 times more than the amount paid for local calls in India. Likewise, the money spent by an Indian roamer in Nepal for a local call is equivalent to 17 local calls through local operator.
Presenting the report at a regional level workshop organized by the World Bank on Tuesday, Rohan Samarjiva, CEO of LIRNEasia said: “The roaming prices has come down from what was in the past, but the regional roaming is still higher compared to our own roaming prices offered to a country beyond our region.”
Regional roaming in case of European countries is US$ 0.63 at maximum. However, intra-SAARC roaming tariff goes up to $3 per minute.
As abolishing roaming is not practical because of the additional cost factor required while providing the service, Samarjiva said authorities of all the countries can agree upon low and uniform tariff across the region. “With lower price, people will be communicating more serving to the benefit of telecom operators and regional integration.”
He further said the uniform tariff was going to encourage frequent travelers to carry their own numbers which will also serve the purpose of maintaining security. Indian operators charge roamer the most, followed closely by Bhutan. According to the report, Afghan roamers are being treated the worst by all member countries.
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