Our readers from Mumbai are reporting about some network problem with Airtel. Since morning some of the readers are facing “Emergency Calls” only. The apparent reason for this network failure seemed due to the fire in a building in South Mumbai. South Mumbai users are the worst affected but according to the officials, the problem will be resolved soon.
Airtel
Airtel’s Corporate Plan
Airtel has it’s own set of Corporate Plans. One of them that we got our hands on was definitely worth reporting. Here are the details of the plan:
- Monthly Rent: Rs.199
- Airtel to Airtel free local calling: 300 mins
- All local calls and SMS: 50paise
- Caller ID: Free of charge
- STD calls: Rs.2
We say: The plan is relatively simple to understand and gives a lot of benefits, especially for A2A calls. The call rates are good and so are the SMS rates. The STD might be one of the concerns but the STD pack worth Rs.50 could be handy to make STD calls at Re.1. That makes the plan cost you Rs.249 and is worth the price. We give it a thumbs up.
Vodafone opens up registration for iPhone diggers
Vodafone has officially opened up the doors for people seeking more news on iPhone in India. Interested users can register at Vodafone by sending a SMS IPHONE to 56789 or head over to the website to register. This is the message I received after successful registration.
Dear Kunal Gangar,
Thank you for booking your new iPhone 3G, with Vodafone. We will keep you updated on its price, features and availability in due course.
Till then, if you have any further queries feel free to call us on 111 (toll free) and we’ll be happy to help.Happy to help,
Vodafone CareEmail vodafonecare.mum@vodafone.com
Visit www.vodafone.in
UPDATE: We called up 111 to know about the availability and the customer exec said that it will not be available before the year end.
UPDATE 2: Airtel users can send a SMS iPhone to 54321.
UPDATE 3: Airtel has opened up their registration page too. Click here.
Recharge coupon makes all STD calls at Re.1
Cellular operators have got a new issue to wage a war. Its for the STD rates. Today Airtel announced a new recharge coupon enabling the users to make STD calls at Re. 1. The coupon costs Rs. 37 which has validity for a month and Rs. 10 as talktime. For the time being, the coupon is only limited to Mumbai and Maharashtra circle. Expect to hit other circles soon.
Airtel launches services in Lakshadweep
The beautiful island of Lakshadweep got its first private mobile service provider in the form of Airtel. Airtel will provide both prepaid and postpaid services.
Initially, Airtel will provide mobile services only in three islands of Kavaratti, Agatti and Bangaram. It has set up two towers in Kavaratti and one each in Agatti and Bangaram. Airtel has also tied up with 50 retail outlets across Lakshadweep to provide anytime recharge facility with Airtel Easy Charge and SIM card buying and registering facilities.
This move by Airtel will provide it with various first mover advantages and will hopefully see other services providers looking at this market.
Airtel launches HTC Touch Diamond in India
Airtel announced the launch of HTC Touch Diamond with Airtel connection recently. The launch gives Airtel an edge over competitors in the premium phone market. The phone, which boasts about being better than all other phones in the market would help Airtel a lot. Here’s what the phone is all about:
- Touch sensitive
- 3D touch interface
- 4GB Internal Storage, 256MB flash, 192MB RAM
- Bluetooth 2.0
- 3.2 MP autofocus camera
- WiFi
- GPS/AGPS
- Google maps
- YouTube compatible
[Read more…] about Airtel launches HTC Touch Diamond in India
Airtel’s Dial a Postpaid plan
Airtel has announced a new plan known as Dial a Postpaid. This scheme comes with a tariff of Rs. 400 which enables the customer to enjoy 800 local minutes and SMS free of cost, additional local calls are charged at Rs. 0.50/minute and STD calls at Re. 1/minute. To lure the customers, Airtel will also be providing free assistance to transfer the data of the customer’s SIM Card to a new one.
We are not sure of the circles in which this scheme is being extended other than Tamil Nadu.
Orkut (Airtel) users providing free GPRS and calling solutions
Which are the threads or forums that are the most accessed on Orkut? One of them is the kiddish games played and the other is cheap tactics of getting free services from your mobile. Yes, forums on Orkut are providing users with access to free GPRS and calling. Just punch in your email id or your contact number and the deatils would be forwarded to you.
Some of the threads read out:
- Free calls worldwide if you’ve got GPRS!!!
- Free secret code for all Mobile Phones
- Airtel Secret Codes
- FREE GPRS FOR MAHARASHTRA peoples
These are just a few of the codes and cheats that are being generated by small time tech geeks. Hundreds of users are readily giving contact details and availing themselves free services. We have no clue whether this really works, but the response is good, which is one reason to support this new face of piracy.
A new Price War – This time it’s Airtel
Bharti Airtel announced that it would go in for a decrease in Roaming charges and rates. This step is seen to start off a price war. We have seen such price tiffs between the operators. To be specific, the STD charges would be dropped down to Rs.1.5 and the roaming charges would go down by 43%.
The immediate effect of the step would be announcements from competing operators. Since the market works on such rules, one can predict the effects that would follow. Seems that Reliance is all ready with a brand new strategy to combat this step taken by Airtel.
Airtel successfully tests 3G technology
For all those users who have been longing to use 3G services in India won’t have to wait much now. That’s what we expect! Airtel has announced that they have successfully tested 3G services in India and will be ready to roll out services as soon as DoT releases the allocated spectrum.
The 3G applications were tested with trial indoor spectrum given to them in the cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. 3G services bring faster internet speed and an option to have wireless broadband.