» Aircel

Aircel and BSNL to share network towers

yogen — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 04:05:08 +0000

This is a first of its kind deal between a public and private telecom company. Aircel is the first telecom operator to sign a passive infrastructure sharing agreement with the publically owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

Mr Gurdeep Singh, COO, Aircel, said, “This is a historic moment for the company. Aircel will now have access to strategically located sites across BSNL’s 21 circles (excluding Mumbai & Delhi). Leveraging BSNL’s passive infrastructure will help Aircel meet its aggressive network roll out plans in addition to reducing operational cost.”

Mr Kuldeep Goyal, CMD, BSNL added, “We are happy to partner with Aircel. BSNL has a strong nationwide coverage and offers the best value proposition in the Indian telecom market. Our objective is to provide quality and reliable service and thereby increase our partner’s confidence”.

Aircel currently has approximately 32,000 network base stations across the country and post this partnership, it will also have access to BSNL’s 45,000 network towers across its 21 circles.

Aircel introduces an innovative VAS: ‘Talk-a-Mail’

yogen — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 05:50:51 +0000

Aircel is one operator who definitely plans its value added services (VAS) seriously, and well even innovatively. Aircel recently added this new VAS called ‘Talk-a-Mail’ and as the name suggests, this service allows Aircel’s subscribers to compose their mails by making a call. Read on to know how to use this service.

How to use it:

- Aircel users will first have to register for this service by sending a message TMS to 58910 post which they will receive a confirmation SMS to start dialing 58910 and sending emails thereafter.

- To compose and send the mail, users will have to call 58910 and spell out their recipients e-mail id to Aircel’s Talk-a-Mail executive. On confirmation of the e-mail id, users will be taken through an IVR to record their message. After recording, press # to send the message. Maximum of 3 minutes are allowed to record the message.

- The receiver will get the message as a normal mail to his e-mail id with the recording as an attachment or a link. To listen to the recorded message the receiver will have to either download the attachment or click the link given in the mail. -

Charges:

There is an activation fee of Rs 30 to be paid at the time of registration. Subsequently, calls and SMSes to 58910 will be charged at Rs 3 per min or SMS.

We say

The service is definitely very innovative and out of box, however, in today’s time when most users posses WAP/GPRS enabled phones, they would find it cheaper and easier to use Aircel’s pocket internet to send/receive e-mails. The target group for this could be people who own non WAP phones, but for those, the service is very costly.

Unlimited Dialer Tunes from Aircel

yogen — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:04:48 +0000

Aircel has announced the first of its kind Dialer Tune card which offers users the freedom to switch their dialer songs unlimited times, at no extra cost. These cards are available for both prepaid and postpaid users.

These cards are currently available in three denominations starting from as low as Rs 7 which comes with a validity of 7 days, Rs 31 valid for 31 days and Rs 240 which can be used for a year.

All Aircel prepaid and postpaid customers can recharge with this coupon by dialing the special IVR number 5300003 and entering the 16 digit secret PIN number. One can also recharge by sending SMS DTC 16 digit PIN number to 5300003 (toll free). Call charges for using the IVR for song selection are Rs. 3 per minute. To unsubscribe SMS DT unsub to 5300003 (toll free).

Add-On Packs for PostPaid by Aircel (Mumbai)

Rohan Kamath — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 15:17:57 +0000

We brought you some cool plans Aircel has on offer for Mumbai users in our exclusive review of PostPaid Plans (Mumbai), and here is a follow up to that one with the add-on packs, which one can opt for along with the postpaid plans. The operator has managed to create a need for these packs by keeping SMS rates at Re.1 for all its plans.

Here are some of the packs you can choose from:

SMS Pack 50 :: 500 Local/ National SMSs free @ Rs.50
SMS Pack 75 :: 1,500 Local/ National SMSs free @ Rs.75
Talk Local Aircel :: 1,000 minutes of local calling to Aircel numbers @ Rs.50
Talk Local 50 paise :: All local calls @ 50 paise for Rs.35/month
Talk Local 30 paise :: All local calls @ 30 paise for Rs.75/month
Talk STD All :: STD calls to Aircel numbers @ 50 paise for Rs.35/month and all @ Re.1 to other networks.
Talk STD Aircel :: All STD calls to Aircel numbers @ 50 paise for Rs.20/month

We Say:: All the plans are definitely worth the spend and are cater to specific user needs, be it STD/ Local calling or SMS. If we were to pick one of them, the Local Calling @ 30paise for Rs.75 a month would be our pick.

Aircel PostPaid Plans Reviewed (Mumbai)

Rohan Kamath — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 05:36:57 +0000

We bring you an exclusive review of the postpaid plans on offer by Aircel for Mumbai users. Overall, we think the operator has introduced a good set of plans and here is each one of them broken down to the basics for you.

The operator has 4 plans in all, the basic differentiators being the usage of the user.

Talk Mumbai 50 – For the Rookie

Monthly Rental: Rs.50
CLIP: Free of charge
All local calls @ Re.1
STD Calls to Aircel: Re.1
STD Calls to other networks: Rs.1.5
Local SMS @ Re.1
National SMS @ Rs.1.5
Intl. SMS @ Rs.5

We Say: The plan makes little or no sense given the availability of plans which offer you calling @ 50paise. Though the rental is pretty low, paying a buck of a minute is definitely not sensible.

Talk Mumbai 200 – For the Budget User

Monthly Rental: Rs.200
CLIP: Free of charge
Free Local Calling: 300 local minutes
Free SMS: 150
All local calls @ 50paise
STD Calls to Aircel: Re.1
STD Calls to other networks: Rs.1.5
Local SMS @ Re.1
National SMS @ Re.1
Intl. SMS @ Rs.5

We Say: This one is perfect for the normal user. Local calling @ 50paise and free calling and SMS (quite a lot) is what can make this one sell. This is well backed by a relatively low rental of Rs.200. However, SMS is still expensive at Re.1, but the SMS packs can come to the rescue.

Talk Mumbai 300 – A very Good deal

Monthly Rental: Rs.300
CLIP: Free of charge
Free Local Calling: 500 minutes
Free SMS: 250
Local calls to Aircel: 30paise
Calls to other networks @ 50paise
All STD Calls @ Re.1
Local SMS @ Re.1
National SMS @ Rs.1.5
Intl. SMS @ Rs.5

We Say: If you think that the previous plan didn’t suffice your needs, this plan is a step ahead of the prior. With an additional Rs.100 as rent, you can make calls to Aircel numbers @ 30 paise only and to the rest @ 50paise. In addition, you get 500minutes and 250 SMSs free. Again, SMS @ Re.1 might be a limiting factor, but we would recommend going in for the packs. Overall, for the price, this one is surely worth the spend.

Talk Mumbai 1000 – For the ChatterBoxx

Monthly Rental: Rs.1,000
CLIP: Free of charge
Free Local and STD Calling: 1,000 minutes each
Free Local and National SMS: 1000 each
Unlimited GPRS usage
All local calls @ 30paise
STD Calls to Aircel @ 50paise
STD Calls to other networks: Re.1
Local SMS @ Re.1
National SMS @ Rs.1.5
Intl. SMS @ Rs.5

We Say: This one’s a biggie, for the one who is always glued to the phone and wants to make the best of it. Along with a whopping 2,000 minutes of free calling (Local + STD) and an equal number of free SMSs, the operator also offers local calling @ 30paise. Although Aircel doesn’t seem to budge on the SMS front, with the free SMS on offer this shouldn’t be much of a problem. Above all, you can use unlimited GPRS on your phone, which only adds to the plans list of positives. Overall, though this one might seem expensive, it won’t give you a reason to complain.

Aircel launches services in Delhi and NCR

yogen — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 18:51:44 +0000

Aircel becomes the seventh cellular operator in Delhi, NCR to offer postpaid and prepaid mobile services. Aircel is a joint venture between Malaysian based Maxis Communications and Apollo Hospital Enterprise and it now has its GSM presence in 13 telecom circles out of the total 23 telecom circles in India.

There are currently close to 20 million mobile subscribers in Delhi owned by Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications, Tata Teleservices, Idea Cellular, MTNL and Vodafone Essar, yet considering the rapidly growing Indian telecom market, Aircel is very optimistic to get sufficient space in the Delhi, NCR telecom circuit.

The company is quite confident of getting a pan-India 3G license and is aggressively working on expansion. It has already allocated $1 billion for investment in current year. Its future plans include introducing the service in Mumbai as well as eastern and western parts of Uttar Pradesh, and the company claims it has already started working towards this next phase.

Aircel to pump in $5billion for expansion – enters Hyderabad!

Rohan Kamath — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 08:21:17 +0000

In an attempt to fuel its expansion plans and make its presence felt in the Telecom market, Aircel has planned to inject $5bn into its business. This announcement came along with the operators expansion into the Hyderabad circle. Aircel is currently a part of Malaysia-based Maxis Communications Bhd and has a subscriber base of 17mn users.

Here’s what Aircel has planned:

The operator plans to invest $10bn into its operations this year.
$5bn is expected to be diverted into its Hyderabad operations.
Aircel also plans to step foot in the northern belt – Delhi and UP as well as Maharashtra.
This will take the count to 18 circles by the end of next month.
The operator also has set optimistic goals of doubling its subscriber base by the end of the year.

We Say: The operator is being well backed by Maxis and has plans to expand in circles, which might help meet its objectives. Though doubling its user base might be difficult, it is never impossible. We can only wait and watch.

Aircel drops ISD calling rates to Singapore & Malaysia

yogen — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:38:14 +0000

Aircel has come up with new recharge coupons for its prepaid subscribers in Tamil Nadu (TN) and Chennai that reduces your rates for calls to Singapore and Malaysia.

On purchasing a recharge coupon worth Rs 96, Aircel subscribers can make calls to these two countries at Rs 3 per minute and on using the recharge coupon worth Rs 29 calls can be made at Rs 3.5 per minute. Both recharge coupons come with a month’s validity and choosing the right coupon completely depends on one’s usage. Aircel intends to target the significant Tamil population in these two countries by introducing such coupons.

ZTE is the official partner for Aircel’s expansion plan

yogen — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 03:17:32 +0000

China based Telecom infrastructure gear manufacturer and wireless solution provider ZTE has officially got hold of a $400 million contract from Aircel for expanding the latter’s GSM coverage in India. There were rumors earlier this week that Aircel, which is 74% owned by Malaysian based Maxis is considering a tie up with African telecom giant MTN.

As for ZTE, they consider India as the biggest telecom market after China. Along with this joint venture, they are also planning to launch their own handset brand by this year-end and are targeting 20% of their global handset sales form India.

MTN plans to enter India

yogen — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 05:17:51 +0000

MTN, Africa’s largest telecom player, which was the acquisition target for both Bharti Airtel and RCom earlier this year is all set to challenge these Indian telecom biggies in their own backyard.

MTN is looking to enter India by partnering a full-fledged existing operator, though there is no fixed time for its entry. (If rumors are to be believed MTN plans partnering with Aircel) As for MTN, it offers services in 21 countries across Africa and Asia and is amongst the world’s top 10 telecom companies.

» Aircel

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