Tuesday, August 16 2005 14:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Mumbai: VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd) today (Aug 16, 2005) cut international bandwidth prices by up to 45 per cent, a move that will give relief to massive bandwidth users like BPOs, call centres and IT companies.

With the slash in tariff, the sixth in the last four years, prices of half circuit international private lines (IPLC) have come down from Rs 40 Lakh in 2001 to Rs 11 Lakh for E1 (2Mbps), from Rs 725 Lakh to Rs 114 Lakh for DS3 (45 Mbps) and from Rs 21 crore to Rs. 3.30 crore for STM-1 (155Mbps).

These prices are for restorable capacities between India and the US on the Tata Indicom cable, VSNL said in a statement.

The company claimed that this latest drop in international bandwidth prices, marks a whopping 84 per cent reduction in four years.

VSNL's recent initiatives of building the Tata Indicom Cable and completing the TGN acquisition have provided it with greater control on international bandwidth cost components.

VSNL had already reduced prices by about 48 per cent on the Tata Indicom Cable in the six months since the cable was put into service.