raccoon

Gosh... I was just hoping and execting to get similar (if not lesser tariffs) than what are being offered by other operators!!! Anyway, now I can call on any phone in India for Rs. 1.3 thru my Idea... and that too WITHOUT add on pack or special plan!!! And whats more, Im getting all this on my I-card active plan!!! So in a way Im already eating the cake and having it too! So until and unless BSNL desides to bring down its rates, I will simply not use it for making STD calls! But I feel BSNL will have to reduce the rates... they dont have any other advantage anyway, except the pricing... their service has always been below par. As for One India tariffs on my broadband... dosent make sense to me at all, because I'd have to pay a substantial rental for the same. Right now Im on zero rental plan... so I'll only use BSNL to make local BSNL to BSNL calls (Re 1 for 3 mins). Thats the ONLY price advantage it currently has.

W.e.f. 1.11.2006, all customers under BSNL Plan 180 (i.e. the default Plan), which is applicable in the SDCA’s where the equipped capacity is 30,000 or more automatically started getting benefits of BSNL One India landline Plan by default without having to make any request from their side. It was gift from the then Telecom Minister. http://bsnl.co.in/newsdetailed.php?news_id=331 Further, from Sept 2007, all such customers have also been extended STD facility by default free of charge. http://bsnl.co.in/newsdetailed.php?news_id=363 Dont have time to look into the details of the plan names and all right now... but there are many other plans... like zero rental plans, plans with much higher free calls, etc., ...and for me, the most important plan - the Unlimited 256 kbps broadband plan which comes with zero rental... and the STD rate is NOT Re 1 or anything even close to that for all these plans!!!

Dosent the site tell you if the number is supported?? Yahoo messenger does...

Im not talking about special plans or add on packs! We are discussing the BASE STD rates!! In that sense almost all operators have special plans for Re 1 STD calls!!!

Well, I guess pre paid isnt like post paid - tariffs are subject to revision. But I dont think any operator changes its plans at the rate that RCom does... so I woudnt worry about it. In fact, ever since I switched to GSM, I'v not experienced any change in plans... only newer and better plans come out...

Why just Voda and AirHELL? Idea is Rs. 1.3 per min now. AirHell in fact seems to be the most expensive as fo now... of course after Reliance... Reliance... they are busy raking in more moola while you wait indefinitely... thats what they are upto! I hope BSNL too reduces its landline STD rates fast... like MTNL!

But reply after how many SMSes? For Yahoo it is 3, I believe...

I dont see Idea Cellular in that list? And can you send unlimited SMSes to a number... or is there a limit or something... or does the recipent have to reply after certain number of mails... like in Yahoo?

Shaiksadik, you are right, my personal experience was with a basic GSM Nokia (1112). But I know and have known many people who have used and are using basic Nokias made some 5 ish years ago (3310, if I remember correctly), without a single problem! And many of them have been used quite rough! Some even going good with the original batts!! And now I know few people with much higher end Nokia handsets (cant recall the model numbers), who have multiple problems with their handsets - ph hanging, automatically switching off for absolutely no reason, headsets going kaput, etc, etc... So what inference can one draw?? I still dont buy the explainiation that a handset can be unreliable & non durable just because its a basic handset. If any brand subscribes to such a philosophy, it should be avoided by customers. And I believe that other bands do make decent basic handsets...

Well, I was talking about Nokia in general... esp. GSM... as I dont have any experience with Nokia CDMA. I did have a bad experience with the 1st and only GSM Nokia I bought several months back. And a few of my friends have had similar experiences... and have decided not to touch Nokia again... What seems definite is that Nokia just isnt what it used to be...

I dont buy the explaination that entry level handsets mean that they have to be "cheap quality"! Entry level means they have minimal a minimal feature set. In fact many "entry level" handsets have BETTER voice clarity and reception... and do a noticibaly better job of what a phone is supposed to do; ie. make calls! And Nokia definitely seems to be declining in quality... and rather than asking why, I'd ask which other makes can fetch me a better deal...

For the Regular Savings A/c you need an average quarterly balance of Rs. 5,000. So you can do the math...

If I remember correctly, HDFC has something called as "No frills a/c" (or something like that), where you dont need to maintain a min balance of 5k. However, it has lesser facilities.

Yes, check out BSNL's/MTNL IPTV. I inquired before getting my Tata Sky connection... the subscription is the cheapest... but they didnt have channels like HBO, etc... and that wasnt acceptable. Also, BSNL has sad reputation for service. The tech and facilities of IPTV, however, seem to make it more attractive.

27 years??????? No kidding!!! Cable tv did not even exist that long ago!!! Lol! Yes, it would be worth the wait. With Dish offering free set top box, I'm sure Tata will have to come up with better options...

Idea rocks!!! They have activated STD @ Rs. 1.3 even on my I-card active pack!!! Previously my STD to non Idea mobiles was Rs. 3.40 and to Idea mobiles Rs. 2! Now its Rs. 1.3!!! And of course the other benifits like 10paise Idea to Idea in happy hours, etc., continues as is!!!

This has been asked MANY times in this forum! Please try searching... In short - NO!!!

Ya... Tata sky dosent air channels like Hallmark, Zee Jagran, local video channels and some others... But then we are getting channels like BBC entertainment, which we werent getting on Hathway. Also, the set top box software and stuff is slightly less user friendly than Hathway's...

Hidden cost in Tata Sky... well, we bought a Tata Sky connection around the last week of December 07 and were promised 7 months subscription was included in the cost. But since March or April, Tata has shifted NDTV Imagine and 9 other channels (if I remember correctly) in an add on package which costs Rs. 30 per month. So, instead of the expected Rs. 300 per month, we would now have to shell out Rs. 330 per month. And we disconnected Hathway (digital, with set top box) which was charging Rs. 270 per month... so we would now end up paying Rs. 60 more per month for cable tv! Not sure you can call this a hidden charge, but we aren't happy about having to pay more... and subscribe to add on packs & keep track of them and all... However, Tata definitely has way better service... and slightly better picture quality... not much difference there. However, have never experienced any downtime with Tata...

Not at all useful... not to me at any rate! BSNL is still stuck with Rs. 1.2/min calls to mobiles etc... I only use my BSNL line for broadband now... and calls to other BSNL landlines (the only cost effective use)... and very few people can be called on a BSNL landline now...

Good, so operators like Vodaphone, who dont have their own NLD network are matching and even exceeding Airtel's offer! So one can hope others like Idea will also come up with similar offers...

Systems down... thats a pretty broad spectrum "solution" they have for almost all kinds of problems! But I don't understand why you wanna run around after them... give up the connection, and then let them run around behind you.... lol!!! Never run around behind anyone as a customer... its highly undignified... thats my motto!

Life time warranty or life time validity??? And I too fail to see why anyone would want to buy such a rudimentary phone for Rs. 800, when you can get a basic phone with all basic features for around the same price...

Well, I was just reffering to the problems when stationary. When moving in a car, its even worse! Congestion is also v severe, in the evenings, etc... Thats for voice calls... on the other hand for SMSing, Airtel rocks! And I'v never had that issue of vanishing/depleting balance with Airtel... or Idea for that matter. These pros, along with the 10p Airtel to Airtel calling (in Happy hrs), 50p to other mobiles & Re. 1 STD, on STV of Rs 90 on my Friendz card, still makes me keep my Airtel as a secondary connection. And now it seems the friendz tariff is valid even for Bombay circle - I am able to call and SMS Bombay mobiles for 10 paise/min!!! Unfortunately, a lot of people I know are on Airtel, so it saves me lotta money... Airtel really needs to do something about its network... else I woudln't consider it a working service... no matter what the tariffs... low tariffs dont help if you cant talk for 2 mins without having a call drop and frequently bad voice clarity... If Idea can have such a good network, there is no reason why Airtel cant do the same!

Speaking of call drops, Airtel is horrible here in Poona - you can expect a call drop as often as every 2 minutes sometimes! Voice clarity is BAD quite often too! I only use it to make 10 p calls and SMS to my friends on Airtel... otherwise, I wouldnt touch it with a bargepole!