If SAARC is to succeed, it must lead to something that citizens can really experience. Much of what SAARC has done thus far is little more than talk at the level of leaders; but what about extending the people of the region the same privilege? The citizens of Southasia should be allowed to speak to each other at the low prices that they take for granted in domestic telephony. It must be easier to do some things within a regional-cooperation area than without. If one is a citizen of a country that belongs to the EU, going to another EU country is easier than going to a non-EU country; doing business with another EU country is easier than with a non-EU country, and so on. From a citizen's perspective, regional cooperation would feel real only if it was easier to go to a SAARC country than to a non-SAARC country. But given our political problems, no short-term pan-SAARC solution seems likely. SAARC has, however, looked into the problems of intra-SAARC communications.
It even has an Action Plan, but as usual, the results disappoint. Let's take a quick look at what it costs to make a call today from a few countries around the region. The cheapest prices from Pakistan are USD 0.03 (for fixed and mobile phones), offered to non-SAARC destinations such as the US and Hong Kong. The lowest SAARC prices are to Bangladesh, for USD 0.12 (mobile), and to India, for USD 0.12 (fixed). The cheapest intra-SAARC price is quadruple that of the cheapest extra-SAARC price. From Sri Lanka, the cheapest prices are USD 0.10 (mobile) and USD 0.21 (fixed). The lowest SAARC prices are USD 0.14 (mobile to India) and USD 0.32 (fixed to most of SAARC).
Meanwhile, calling the neighbouring SAARC countries generally costs 40-50 percent more than to the distant US. BSNL, the dominant fixed operator in India, makes an exception for one SAARC country. It offers a rate of USD 0.17 to the US, UK and Canada, as well as to Sri Lanka. All other SAARC countries are charged USD 0.28, which is considerably higher than prices even to Southeast Asia. On the mobile side, the lowest prices to non-SAARC countries are USD 0.15, while SAARC pays a 50 percent surcharge (USD 0.22). In Afghanistan, pricing information is only readily available for mobile phones. Here, the major mobile operator appears to treat Asia uniformly, offering a price of USD 0.49 to SAARC and to other Asian countries. This is lower than what it offers to more distant destinations.
The Maldives and Bhutan have mobile duopolies and fixed monopolies. The former offers the lowest rates to places such as Singapore and China (USD 0.23), while the lowest rates to SAARC countries are USD 0.30, a significant surcharge. Bhutan offers a lowest price of USD 0.31 to the country's most important trade and political partner, India, while charging the rest of SAARC USD 0.59, almost double. The 'SAARC-less-India' price is higher than what is charged for Thailand (USD 0.48). Bangladesh has many mobile and fixed operators, but maintains a de-jure international monopoly that is being changed to a joint, regulator-managed monopoly. Various factors make published rates problematic, but these state that SAARC and Southeast Asian countries enjoy the lowest prices.