Group Plans are becoming popular among service providers. With all major operators having one in their offering basket, it was high time MTNL joined the league. The step, though late, would be welcomed well by users,

Here are the details of the plan, which is named My Group Plan:

• Monthly charges: Rs.30
• Registering a number in the group: Rs.10
• Calling and SMS within the group: 10paise
• Only Dolphin and Trump numbers allowed
• A maximum limit of 10 members allowed

You could get your clan registered and enjoy calling at the lowest rates possible by calling 1503/9869012345 (Toll Free) The plan, though a good one, does not live upto the other plans introduced by the operator.

The advertisement says ‘Offer valid till stock lasts’ but how much is the stock left when this scheme is pretty much valid since June? Anyways, overlooking the marketing ploys here, if you’re in search for a new number then MTNL is giving away a prepaid number for free to its existing MTNL Landline/Trump/Garuda/Dolphin users. Customers will get a Trump SIM card with a 30 day validity and Rs. 20 worth of talk time.

MTNL Mumbai gives its users another reason to rejoice. With the biggest festival coming up, MTNL users will be able to send and receive unlimited free MMSes. This offer is applicable to all its prepaid as well as postpaid users and will last till October 31, 2008. To activate GPRS/MMS service, a user can dial 1503 or send a SMS by typing ACT GPRS to 444 (prepaid) or GPRS4 to 555 (postpaid).

Being owned by the government has its own advantages. MTNL and BSNL have been already allotted the 3G spectrum and if all the trial tests prove successful, MTNL will be launching its commercial services by December. The current trial network is in and around the Delhi’s Connaught Place area. Mumbaikars will be getting their hands on the 3G pie by early next year.

DoT recently allocated one block of spectrum each to MTNL in Delhi and Mumbai and to BSNL in other service areas. This has been done ahead of the forthcoming auction of 3G spectrum for each telecom service area. DoT has already initiated the process for selection of the specialised agency for conduct of the e-auction. MTNL and BSNL will pay a price for the spectrum allocated to them equal to the highest bid in the respective service area.

Ever thought if the current callertune is not ‘your types’. Then here is one way you can have your callertune recorded yourself. MTNL has started this service for its users and here is how to go about it.

• Call 56789 and record your callertune
• This would cost you Rs.4 per minute
• Set the recorded tune as your callertune
• Per recorded song would cost you Rs.5
• One can record 10 such songs

The catch here is the charges you pay when you record the tunes. Rs.4 a minute sounds OK, but to get that right recording, it might just dig a hole in your pocket. The service is available to both Trump and Dolphin users.

SMS birdies staying in the nest of MTNL Mumbai have something to rejoice. They have announced the reduction in National and International SMS rates. The new rates applicable to the user will Re. 1 for National and Rs. 2.50 for International. The national rate is not much of a dampener for other operators as they charge 50 paise in most of the their postpaid plans. But the spoiler comes in the form of International messaging rates. That’s 50 percent less than the private operators charge.

Monday: The week started with Airtel’s attempt to replicate Tata’s offer. This plan named as the ‘Independence Day recharge’ is available to Delhi and NCR users only.

Tuesday: Shaadi.com tied up with Vodafone to have people find a bride or a groom on their cellphones. Just SMS Shaadi to 57007 or logon through Vodafone Live. Marriages are now made on the Mobile Phone.

Wednesday: Vodafone launched a local card for Punjab, thus providing users to call locally at 50paise.

Thursday: Airtel was back into the Independence groove and launched Super Value 499 Plan, for postpaid users. This one is aimed at the high usage category.

Friday: MTNL announced Independence Day Hungama on the I-Day to give its users Freedom to access unlimited GPRS and send unlimited MMS.

Saturday: We reveal the pricing of the Apple iPhone. With the 8GB priced between 15k and 18k, the 16GB would be available close to 30k.

MTNL has brought in a Recharge coupon for its Trump users priced at Rs 49. What users get against this coupon is:

• Local calls charged at 49 paise per minute

• STD calls charged at Rs 1.30 per minute

• Local SMS’s charged at 50 paise per SMS

• National SMS’s charged at Re 1 per SMS

This coupon comes with a validity of 30 days from the date of recharge and considering all the benefits it is offering we would recommend it for all those people having high local usage.

Monday: Tata Indicom reveals its Platinum Postpaid Plan and we decided to peek inside this full value offer.

Tuesday: MTNL is definitely considering their customer’s criticism. Apart from offering basic cellular services, they are rolling out new services just like the recent MTNL Live which is a Live Photo Sharing Service.

Thursday: Virgin Mobile’s another vPower recharge enables a user to call other Virgin Mobile users at 10 paise/min.

Friday: The fire in one of the buildings in Mumbai halted Airtel services in many parts of the city. According to Airtel 90% of the services has been restored but many readers are still complaining about the disconnection.

Official statement released by Airtel said “To alleviate our customers’ issues, we have also proactively rerouted calls to ensure continued service. Also, majority of the impacted customers were not charged for the calls made.”

MTNL always used to carry this ‘government-owned operator’ image with itself thanks to the limited services that were available to its users. But now, the operator is trying to do away with that image by launching with new services. This week it’s MTNL Live, a live Photo Sharing Service. Here are some of your queries answered:

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