The North Eastern Region (NER) of the country will be provided a roaming-free zone by state run telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), from September 1, 2009 onwards. People of the region, with BSNL's connections, can now enjoy roaming-free services in Assam under certain terms and conditions.

The subscribers do not have to pay extra for outgoing calls, SMS and data for visiting roaming zones, as charges will be deemed as local in two Licensed Service Areas (LSAs).

The development came after a request by the Non-Government Organization, Himalaya Parivar of Guwahati, to the Union Minister for Communication and IT earlier this year. The request underlined that the North Eastern Region of India - comprising seven states, namely, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya and Tripura - are still underdeveloped and require some relaxations.

The NGO, through a memorandum, said that people of the region are living in same geographical area with difficult topographical conditions as people generally travel neighbouring states by passing through Assam, thus, covered under roaming and charged for availing telecom services.

The concerned ministry heeded the demand, and promised to consider the entire region under local area network.