A panel from within the Department of Telecom has proposed to get rid of national roaming rates by merging each of India's 22 telecom circles into a single service area.
If this proves difficult, the panel recommended the country be split into four zones for regulatory purposes, according to recommendations seen by the Economic Times.
Currently customers are forced to pay roaming fees when making calls outside their home circles. The regulatory maximum tariff for STD calls is 2.40 rupees per minute ($0.05).
Under the proposal, regulator Trai would be responsible for working out the particulars of the circle reduction.
But the plan is sure to be vehemently opposed by the nation's mobile operators, which currently make a combined 120 billion rupees – roughly 10% of industry revenues - from roaming charges, the Times said.
The panel also called for the establishment of the first national policy on telecom towers.
The policy would set regulatory conditions such as the minimum distance towers must be from schools and hospitals, and maximum radiation levels.
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