raccoon

A VERY HAPPY B'DAY Arun!!! Though belated... just saw that it was your b'day...

They better!! I'm paying Rs. 750 + tax for a 256 kbps unlimited connection! Whats intresting to note is that it seems its always BSNL/MTNL that reduce prices in Broadband... and the pvt. operators just try to keep pace...

Why pick only on Airtel and Voda? All of them loot. And RCom is the biggest looter... Established players will always oppose any threat to their business. Its upto regulating bodies, etc., to break monopolies and cartels as they emerge...

But if the CDMA market shrinks like this... it will eventually die! Also, not many handset vendours will bring out good and varied handsets for a shrinking market...

Good move? Well, life is getting more complicated for us!! Just suppose - someone goes to another circle for a short while, and wants to buy a local SIM... getting 2 guarantors will be difficult!!

Looks really cool... I luv slim & light phones...

Yes, I know he wants to continue with RCom right now... but nobody can tell about the future! Thats why what I suggests leaves the possibility for divorce to happen... hehe! Best to try out all options and settle for the best. I have a few friends here in Poona/Maharashtra, who are quite happy with Airtel for data. I dont know how it compares with RCom/Tata though. AFAIK, Airtel does have EDGE in Poona. Dont know about others. However, dont go for Airtel if voice calls are important for you!!! And CDMA speeds will vary in different cell sites. Its just possible that in some cells you may get better speeds with EDGE than with CDMA...

Well, I'v not been with Idea for as long as you ...but for about 1.5 years or so... and they haven't modifyed anything for me. My I-card plan continues as is, with the added advantage that they have reduced the STD rate to Rs. 1.3 from the Rs. 2.5 (approx)! Landline tariff is also Re. 1 now. And they have kept me satisfied in other ways too! Whereas Airtel's equivalent plan - Friendz, continues with the old rates where the tariff for STD and landlines is exhorbitant!! g999, even if you get number portability, which operator are you going to go for?? I dont know if you have tried others... but I'v tried all except Vodaphone and Tata... and I say its definitely not perfect, but its better than all the others... at least in Maharashtra!

Instead of a very basic GSM handset, why not at least buy one which has EDGE (make sure the operator you opt for supports it!) and try it out? I'm sure prices of EDGE handsets will have come down quite a bit lately. EDGE speeds will vary in different parts... and if you are lucky the speed in your area might be good. Even if it is a bit less than CDMA, if you use the net only for browsing, email, etc... you wont notice much difference... and in the process have all the advantages that GSM has to offer... and also maybe save yourself the hassle of carrying 2 phones!

But this is India... I wont be surprised if the dont allow portablity across GSM - CDMA. In the absense of more details... we can only wait and watch. Retro182, MNP does not mean handset portablity. Even if they allow mobility of number across technologies, handsets will/can remain locked to the operator... in case of CDMA!

Well, you dont have to force yourself to read their crap... just disable area display! What call quality??? As I'v said before, I dont find any difference... at least not between Reliance and Idea. Yes, if you compare with Airtel, its wayyyyyyyyyyy better! Depends on the operator you are comparing with!!!

Yes... probably CDMA dosent support this functionality?!

Yes, it should! Location display facility can be very useful. Fortunately with my Idea, there is never any problem. It always displays only the location... as it should. Worst Is Reliance... they dont even have that concept...

Jokie... 3G and all when they dont even have a decent network for the most basic use - voice!!! Beware guys in Mah circle... If you fall for this, you will be left holding a fancy phone that may good good at most other things except talking... Lol!!!

Dunno about Bihar, but here in Poona, Airtel did have a problem with that. The location would be displayed only once in a blue moon! Then they recently started advertising the STD for Rs. 1.5 using the location display. When they stopped, the location as of now displays as it should, in all areas I'v visited using the phone. Hope they keep it that way...

Very bad show by Idea... hope they dont play this trick in other circles...

Lol... for sure... but it will be intresting to see how RCom takes on the established players. If they want to make any substantial market share in a hurry, they will need to offer something substantially better to customers and shake up the market... Like how Reliance Infocom did when it 1st entered the market. But I dont think ADA is upto it... We can only wait and watch...

Reliance has too many disadvantages... 5% cheaper isn't enuf compensation. Unless it can save around 20% or so on my bill, I wouldn't even look at them again. Anyway, forget 5 and 20% cheaper... their current philosophy seems to be to try and become a premium player by simply charging premum rates... lol!

Pathetic idea! I'd hate to see any Airtel icon or anything else on a ph that isnt on Airtel network. Lets not support these kinds of dubious moves guys... Its somewhat like supporing proprietary systems like CDMA! Anybody who wants to access Airtel Live can always do it the usual way... Seeing Airtel anywhere makes me see red...

Yes, but as you know, non-thermal radiation effects are even less studied!! We cant be too sure of this either. Though as you said, logically it does sound quite tenable. And what you said about sponsored research is of course another dark reality we face... I dont think any research can dispute this fact - plain old wireline ph is your safest bet!

Intresting option... but again inconclusive and insufficient evidence. I wont be surprised after few years and with more testing, they start saying it may cause tumours or common colds or tsunamis...

Absolutely... except for the fact that calling from landline to mobiles is MUCH more expensive! Since 90% of the nos I call are either Idea or Airtel... I now only spend 10p/min (mobile - mobile) with both these operators... But if anyone is concerened about safety, I guess nobody can beat the POT!!! And as a bonus you get best voice clarity and no call drops...

Ya... I wouldnt even try to drill this into BSNL's thick skull... they will either not listen, or having listened fail to comprehend, of having comprehended will feign to have not comprehended...

Airtel is known to be good up north... (don't know about Guj)... but here in Poona... and probably in Mah circle it is pathetic, believe me!! I wont eve get started about the network... out of all the mails I'v written to the Nodal officer I got a super lame reply after 1 month!!! In RCom's case, I believe their CC is centralised... so I guess anybody from anywhere is going to get similar responses... About the SAR... I guess none of us have any definitive data about which tech is least harmful?? I guess it might be safe to say (at least tentatively) that, after adding it all up, both techs are going to fry our brains to more or less the same extent...

Well, people have a tendency to think something is superiour just because they are using it... and if they are using it for a longish period, then even more interia is added to that feeling... For eg. I have a few friends here who use Airtel here and think its the best... they will even fight for it and give you convincing arguments like they would not be no. 1 if they werent the best, no service provider is without problems, etc, etc... when in reality its worse than BSNL... human nature...