India's Bharti To Pass Fee Cut Benefit To Callers

NEW DELHI (Dow Jones)--Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd. (532454.BY), India's second-biggest mobile telephone operator, Thursday said it will pass the benefit of cuts in telephone call levies to its customers.

"The cuts in Access Deficit Charges will be passed on in their entirety to the customers from the day it is implemented," Bharti Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal told reporters minutes after India's telecom regulator announced the reductions.

The fee on incoming international calls has been cut to INR3.25 a call. Outgoing overseas calls will attract a levy of INR2.50 a call. Both categories of overseas calls previously had a fee of INR4.25 a call.

Mittal, who has been lobbying for an end to the levies that largely benefit state-run operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL.YY) said, "It is a good start, but we have a long way to go."

The revised fee structure is effective Feb. 1.

-By Ruchira Singh, Dow Jones Newswires; +91-11-2307-4020; djn.in@dowjones.com

-Edited by Sharon Vong

(END) Dow Jones Newswires"

Posted to the site on 6th January 2005