Think again. Telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, the corporatised avatar of the department of telecom services, has entered the cut-throat world of cellular telephony with a vengence.

BSNL has informally told its regional bosses - the Chief General Managers - that they are free to change tariff structures rupee-for-rupee to take on competition from the entrenched private sector players.

BSNL sources said the pricing freedom has been given to the CGMs of all circles where it will be offering cellphone services. No longer will the CGMs have to wait for files to move to headquarters in Delhi and back.

Although all tariff proposals have to be cleared by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, the packaging autonomy given to the CGMs poses new problems for the private players.

When MTNL and BSNL announced lower rates for their proposed cellular services earlier this month, they set off a chain of "tariff adjustment" (read: price cuts) by private operators across the country. Command and Spice, the brands in Kolkata, announced revised rates at the same time.

Not to be outdone, the BSNL unit Calcutta Telephones yesterday submitted a revised set of proposals to the TRAI, seeking the rockbottom rates being offered by MTNL for its Dolphin brand - which are incidentally way below the latest offerings of Spice and Command.

When the government companies announced their foray into mobile telephony, the private players began talking of the strength of their brand image and the negative impression the public has about government companies.

According to a telecom market analyst, the speed with which BSNL sent a revised proposal - even before it has launched the first phase in Kolkata - is an indicator of things to come. ``If BSNL can really create this kind of work atmosphere, the users will start enjoying the fruits of real competition - from a duopoly to a competitive market structure," he said.

The BSNL source said the CGMs needed the flexibility to survive in the new, complex market. "We cannot survive in this market without the independence.

Price-cutting is not a one-time affair. In future this will happen time and again. All this will help us to implement the right strategy," the BSNL source said.

The private players here sought to dismiss BSNL's latest move. An official of Spice said the more the competition the better. ``This is not at all a surprise for us. It is perfectly right for BSNL to take this decision of giving some kind of flexibility's to their CGMs in the circle. This will increase competition and the users will be benefited," said Mr R Mahesh, general manager for marketing of Spice Cell Ltd, the BK Modi outfit that operates the Spice service.

An official of rival Command, who requested anonymity, also feigned insoucience. He declined to term Command's move a price cut. "It was a restructuring of tariffs," the official insisted firmly.