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In its recommendations to the government, Telecom regulator TRAI stated on Wednesday that National and International Long Distance operators be permitted to offer STD and ISD voice calls using operator-specific calling cards.

According to the fresh guidelines, consumers can now choose their carrier for making long distance calls.

This means that no matter who your service provider is you can buy calling cards from other telecom majors and take the benefit of the cheapest rates to make those calls.

This announcement by TRAI is likely to benefit consumers with more competitive rates although the profitability of major telecomm companies may take a hit.

Telecom stocks were already down the day before following TRAI’s recommendations on net telephony.

Globally, long-distance tariffs have fallen after customers were allowed to choose their operator. Some reports peg the tariffs-fall to be between 20% and 53%.

The move will empower the consumers by offering choice, quality and affordable prices from a service provider of their choice.