Free India roaming could be reality by October 2013
Free roaming across India could be in place by October 2013, after initial plans for a launch this month were postponed.
As quoted by The Times of India, Indian Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal announced the deadline but stopped short of providing an exact date. Telcos currently have to pay various fees like termination and interconnect charges to competing networks, which typically gets passed on to the consumer.
"TRAI has floated a consultation paper on [national free roaming]. So when Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) recommendations come and after that, we will try to start free roaming before October," he said. In December 2012, TRAI sent out a pre-consultation paper in order to seek input and response from stakeholders on the free India roaming services.
