I guess there’s no operator who could even come close to this one. MTNL has done it again, with the Garuda “Prepaid RUIM-1500″ Plan. The plan truly rocks. Keeping it simple, here’s why:

• Registration charges: Rs.175
• Free Talktime on MTNL networks: Rs.1500 including SMS
• Validity: 1 year

Call charges:

• MTNL local – 0.40paise
• Other networks – Re.1
• STD – Rs.1.75
• Maharashtra and Goa – Rs.1.50

We say:  What else can one expect for Rs.175. It is definitely a great deal. The call rates are cheap, particularly if you make calls to MTNL networks. Call charges to other networks isn’t much expensive, though the STD is. That’s fine considering the free stuff you get.

Virgin mobile brings in a special offer on the purchase of every Nokia 2505 phone with a Virgin Mobile connection. They are offering freebies worth Rs. 549 which includes

• Virgin Mobile Smart SIM card of Rs 99
• Free local calls of Rs 75 for first 3 months
• Free SMS worth Rs 75 for first 3 months

This offer has been well planned and launched considering the fact that their target audience is the youth. Free talktime and free SMSes for 3 months makes it an attractive deal but as such it is available only with the Nokia clamshell. Nokia 2505 is priced at Rs. 3760 and has basic features like a colour display and an FM radio. To know more about the phone click here.

There’s a reason to smile for Kalyan and Dombivali MTNL users. We know that you’ll have been deprived with GPRS services by MTNL in your area. But as per the latest update given to us, MTNL has started providing GPRS in Kalyan with Dombivali in the queue and the service will be live there too. But this is not we are referring to. As a goodwill gesture for the service delay, MTNL will provide free GPRS in these areas for a limited period of time.

Data transfers won’t be charged but downloading premium content from MTNL’s affiliated WAP sites can cause a hole in the pocket.

 

Airtel prepaid users in Delhi & NCR region will now be able to talk more with their loved ones. Bharti Airtel has announced a recharge voucher of Rs. 56 which enables the user to talk to any local mobile phone at 50 paise flat. The scheme is applicable to all prepaid customers including the life-time users. The voucher has no talktime but has a 30 day validity.

No details on when this voucher will be extended to other circles but expect it to hit soon.

This week comes to an end. And here are this week’s highlights from the telecom arena. The week started with a review on the online billing management system of Vodafone. It was followed with the controversy surrounding BlackBerry services that they are a threat to the nation. However the latest outcome is that the DoT has ruled out a ban and said that they will resolve the issue soon.

One of our readers, Ramakrishna Kamath gives his verdict on Airtel Friendz in Customer Speak. The next article to come up was Vodafone coming up with an insurance cover for their postpaid customers provided by TATA AIG to the tune of Rs. 50000. As our commenter points out, MTNL is also providing insurance cover to its customers. Lastly, Tata Teleservices has announced that they will follow stricter quality norms than specified by TRAI and if they do not happen to go by their word, customers can penalise them.

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We all know that Customer is the king. And to make him happy, companies go to any extent so that they be loyal to them. In a similar move, Tata Teleservices aka Tata Indicom has announced that quality satisfaction will be guaranteed and if it happens to be below the set standards, they will offer a voluntary penalty.

Anil Sardana, MD of Tata Tele said that “We will come out with a customer chart setting more stringent quality norms compared to telecom regulator TRAI and if we fail to comply with those standards we are ready to pay penalty to our subscribers.”

We are not sure of what type of penalty they are talking about but we would want other operators too to follow the suit. After all, customer service is the only thing which distinguishes them with the competitors.

Source

Vodafone postpaid customers are being offered special offers to enroll for Direct Debit Facility. This facility allows the customers bank to directly pay Vodafone the said amount of the bill, making it problem free for the customer. The benefit being offered is an accident insurance cover worth Rs.50,000. The accident insurance is being provided by Tata AIG.

Enroll Now: SMS TATA to 54044 and you’ll get a call from TATA AIG within 48 hours.

 

Ramakrishna Kamath is using Airtel Friendz ever since it was launched. Attracted to the cheap call rates and SMS, he planned to take it up. The positives according to him were the plan rates:

• Calls @ 10paise per minute between 5 friends

• Calls @ 10paise to any local Airtel during happy hours

• SMS A2A @ 10paise and nationally @ 25paise

Positives: As for the other favorable aspects of the service provider, he really thinks that the GPRS deal is a good value for money. For a daily charge of Rs.15, the high download speeds of upto 25kbps make the deal a must buy. Another good thing is the provision of balance and call charges being displayed after every call.

Negatives: But there’s another side to it. He says that the customer care sucks big time and the service center employees aren’t well equipped with the knowledge required to help customers.

Network: As for the network, the reality defies what’s shown in the ad with bad network in rural areas and national highways.

Overall: With great call rates on one side and the bad service on the other side, Ramakrishna gives it a “good” with 3.5/5 rating.

 

I bet that this won’t happen anytime soon but apparently the home ministry is considering a ban on Research in Motion’s (RIM) BlackBerry service. No, they are not unhappy with the service delivery but it’s the threat it poses to country by encrypting the data.

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My Vodafone is a service provided to users to manage their account. This service allows you to manage the services you’ve opted for, make changes in your talk plans and get statistical charts of all your bill components.

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