Delhi-Mumbai STD calls go local

New Delhi: MTNL on Tuesday launched its long distance services between Delhi and Mumbai, opting Tata-owned VSNL as its preferred carrier for STD calls - a move that could bring down call rates even while badly hitting Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.

The calls will be charged at Re 1.20 per three minutes, which effectively translates to 40 paise a minute.

The new rates to be announced shortly, would come into effect from June 1.

Till now, BSNL was MTNL's carrier for long distance calls and was charging higher rate for the service. The reduction in call rate is on account of MTNL opting to use Tata-owned VSNL as its preferred carrier for long.