Telekom Malaysia will forego another RM29 million in revenue in its second tariff revision this year aimed at rural subscribers, reports said today.

Telekom over the weekend unveiled new tariff packages for more than one million subscribers in rural areas from June, the New Straits Times said.

The move came after it raised charges for local telephone calls in March by 33 percent in the first tariff review since 1996 to boost revenue for fixed line operators and encourage investment in rural networks.

State-owned Telekom in March also cut rates for fixed-line international calls by up to 67 percent from March in a bid to become a competitive regional communications hub.

But manufacturers, consumers and the opposition have protested against the rise in local charges, saying it posed a burden to lower-income groups and was unmatched with services.

Telekom chief executive Mohamad Khir Abdul Rahman said the second tariff rebalancing came as the company realised its first revision in March had affected rural folks.

From June, Telekom reduced telephone rentals for some 100,000 rural subscribers and lowered rates for local calls made from payphones which would benefit some one million rural folks.

The daily said the two tariff revisions would see Telekom losing around RM53 million annually but Mohamad Khir said the move would be offset by a gradual increase of users.

Telekom, which dominates the fixed-line sector, has also moved to expand its cellular business recently by taking control of Malaysia's second biggest mobile phone operator, Technology Resources Industries.