India's MTNL to Sell Internet Services at Lower Rates Than VSNL
Bloomberg News
January 29, 1999, 2:42 a.m. PT
India's MTNL to Sell Internet Services at Lower Rates Than VSNL
New Delhi, Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) -- India's Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd.'s kicked off a price war in internet services by unveiling its services at rates lower than Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.'s rates.
MTNL, the fixed phone line service provider in the two cities of Delhi and Mumbai, said it will sell its internet services for 8,500 rupees ($199.9) for 500 hours.
VSNL, India's only long distance phone service provider and also the only one that was allowed to provide internet services until recently, charges 10,000 rupees for 500 hours.
Both MTNL and VSNL are state-controlled companies.
MTNL also decided to start its internet services of 5,000 lines each in Delhi and Mumbai from Feb. 9, 1999, the company said in a statement.
MTNL's profit rose 25 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, as people made more phone calls.
Profit for the telephone services provider to the cities of Delhi and Mumbai, rose to 3.40 billion rupees in the third quarter, from 2.72 billion rupees in the year-earlier period.
Sales of MTNL, as the company is known, increased 10.6 percent to 13.06 billion rupees.
MTNL shares prices fell 0.50 rupee to 174.50.
--Subramaniam Sharma and Arijit Ghosh in New Delhi
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