Ramchi

Mr Rajan, In my area Airtel used to provide GPRS services for Prepaid and Postpaid customers @ Rs 250 Per Month. I have taken up Total Freedom 99 plan and opted for GPRS connection @Rw 250 Per Month for unlimited usage. See one of my previous posts where I have attached my monthly bill. In some areas they may not be offering this plan as they might charge around Rs 600 for unlimited usage thru GPRS connections. In some places they may NOT even allow you to take up Rs 99 plans instead they would force you to take up minimum Rs 300 (and above) plans if you need GPRS connections. Also, their performance varies from one place to the other. Initially, i took up this GPRS service on a trail basis for couple of months. Only after I have found out that Airtel GPRS connection satisfied my ordinary browsing needs, I continued with their service for more than one year. In Chennai they are offering uninterrupted & unlimited Broadband service (thru Landline ofcourse) @256 Kpbs for Rs 999 per month. You may need to check with Airtel on this as well. But if you take up this service you may not able to browse thru your mobile phone instead you may need to access it thru a landline phone. Let me know, if you need more information on this. As some one suggested wait for festivel time where they may come up with cheaper schemes.

I am using the mobile phone cover of SonyEricsson Z600 which is perfectly fitting Nokia 6255. This cover is a detachable model not specific to Z600.

Good question! Most of my calls are STD and Reliance Joy499 seems to be the optimal plan for my kind of usage. If my usage pattern changes from STD to Local then I may switch to GSM or Landline (currently, I do not have a landline).

Mr Iqbal, Thanks for your message. I think you are effectively paying Rs 250 for your GPRS considering the fact that monthly charges for voice usage in prepaid connection is Rs 350. I have used my prepaid GPRS/WAP connections in roaming areas without having to pay anything additioanl. This is a cool plan available in Airtel. Let us hope Rconnect scales down its charges from Rs 1500 to Rs 500 for unlimited usage.

Mr Ashok, I have already explained about my GPRS Plan for Rs 250 with a proof (I have attached my Ebill in one of my posts) so I do not wish to elaborate on this further. Speed – I do agree that GPRS connections may have lesser Kpbs speed than Rconnect. Unfortunately, when I tested a website thru Rconnect (I have also provided the web link which I used for testing both GPRS and RConnect) I did not experience any significant difference in performance both could not play that song in the web link. As I explained, RConnect speed may vary in different areas. I get unlimited GPRS connection plus unlimited WAP Connection for Rs 250 a month. When I really do not get adequate performance improvement, I do not think it is wise of me to invest Rs 1500 a month on RConnect. I am not sure whether customers are charged for using RWorld even if you have unlimited RConnect account. Personally, I think in India Broadband (256 Kpbs) rates must be brought down to Rs 400-500 for unlimited usage. For Mobile phone based internet connections may charge another Rs 100-200 more with unlimited usage and good speed (may be 144 Kpbs).

Nokia 6255 is a decent phone for its price. Probably, memory may be increased from limited 6 MB to shared memory like GSM phones. In terms of features I do not see any big difference between these two except for Mega Pixel Camera. Other than these two features Nokia 6255 has everything. But if you want the latest you need to pay the premium and Nokia is not going to stop with 6265 either. My gut feeling is Nokia 6265 may cost more than 15K. I will not be surprised if it is around 17K. By the time 6265 gets released Nokia 6255 may cost lot cheaper and it may be around 10K. If 5-7K does not make big difference you can wait for 6265 otherwise you are better-off with 6255.

I do not agree with Bans. Probably, they can try this ban of Camera Phones in certain places like Offices, Schools, Colleges etc...but use of Camera phones in public places should be allowed. If this is the case then all vigilance cameras and even use of Cameras needs to be curtailed as well. Many places these vigilance cameras operate without your knowledge. Infact, we are seeing office vigilance cameras capturing sexual activities of BPO workers! Corrupt people always afraid of getting caught in the camera be it mobile or otherwise; no wonder this is discussed in Rajya Sabha! People must behave properly in public places and they can not blame technology for their inappropriate behaviors.

Many people are not paying taxes just because they are not reasonable. When you reduce your tax limits and expand your tax base the number of tax evasion will be considerably less. By reducing unnecessary taxes people will have more disposable income which can impact the economy positively? “customers are quite content with the cheapest possible voice services and data is barely 5% of ARPUs” Ten years back people were telling that only 0.01% of the population will be using Mobile phones.

Budget deficits can be addressed by reducing the subsidies, by increasing the tax base, reducing unnecessary taxes and reduce the size of the state/central government, disinvest from lose making Public sector organizations etc... Once the highest bidder takes the spectrum then he can literally stall the technology advancement by taking the customer for ransom. This will not benefit Indian citizens who want to be 3G customers any way. Already, government is charging each and every Mobile customers with their service taxes and adding this spectrum charges will not be taken lightly by the customers.

I am happy to see both us feel the same way on each other Cheers!!!

TCP/IP, As far as I am concerned even if the service is free I would not go for Osama but I would go for expensive Ambanis ;-) fyi, I would be happy if Ambanis getting richer than Dawoods!!!! Get my point?

Rakesh, Probably you have run out of luck! I have already signed up unlimited GPRS services for Rs 250 a month thru Airtel. I have attached my recent bill in one of my previous posts. May be Airtel does not provide this plan in your area. Infact, I have used Airtel GPRS connection in both Prepaid and Postpaid for almost one year [6 months in Prepaid and 6 months in Postpaid] for free [They might have missed out to charge me]!!! Once I was charged for Rs 600 then I immediately disconnected the GPRS connection; next month they came up with new offer of unlimited GPRS for Rs 250 then I changed my plan from Rs 200 to Rs 100 + went for GPRS @ 250 PM.

I don't mind if Reliance gains monopoly which benefits the customer! If they have invested in laying FO cables then Reliance deserves to go monopoly on atleast RIM-2-RIM calls. BSNL always s**ks though they have better coverage. Those inefficient people will not allow the customer to enjoy benefits rather their employees only will enjoy free calls!

I really doubt unlimited STD (RIM-2-RIM); this would limit their revenue and surely Ambanis would not like!!! If I can make calls for 2000 minutes per month and avail unlimited incoming calls [including out of circle] for Rs 1200 I would be fine. Or, 3500-4000 minutes including incoming for Rs 1200 & no roaming charges. I think, only Reliance is providing unlimited free minutes. We must appreciate Ambanis for that.

ashoksoft, I would be happy to verify the bench mark figures based on your suggestion. Btw, yesterday mid-night as well I tried to play the same song using RConnect but I could not. I have not taken up any special plans for Rconnect but using 0.25/0.50 a min dial-up connection. I am not sure whether the connection speed for Rconnect changes for different plans. Solanky, "So changing providers is not easy untill than number portability introduced in India" I concur your views. That's why I have supported the One India, Universal Numbering system across India. Please see more discussion on this topic under the following thread: http://www.rimweb.in/forums/index.php?showtopic=4428&st=15

Anujit, I am not a Reliance shareholder so I am NOT unduly worried about how the rate cuts would impact service providers. When ADC charges were slashed none of the providers passed it to customers. But when TRAi slapped ADC couple of years ago, the very next day every provider without informing the customers started charging. So passing ADC back to customer is not going to happen in India. Right now customers are going thru difficulties in choosing plans. Just look at the link I have provided [bSNL Tariff] and see how a customer can make clear decision? Call charges are made out to be cheaper when you compare the rates with international tariffs but what you fail to see is $50 PM for an American is nothing compared to INR 2000 PM for an average Indian. An average US customer [not even middle-class customer] $50 is 1/50 of his household income definitely lot cheaper than what you made out to be. Customer base & Volume: Potential customer base is more in India than in US or UK or Canada for that matter. Every rate cut would increase call volumes. There will be performance hit but 100% network use would really benefit provider as well. Providers can always increase their revenues thru value added services at affordable cost. There are inconveniences when the usage factor increases; it happens everywhere in this world. Providers must use technology to over come this issue and there is no medal for coming second! Universal number system, single rate across the country not only benefits the customer but also providers on the long run. The competition would be more when every provider is offering their services on equal grounds. People can move freely to one provider to another seamlessly without having to worry about losing their numbers. If profit is the only motive we don’t need innovation; even without that Reliance can make more money by having shareholders as their customer! Btw, technology wise Reliance network or handset is NOT on par with GSM providers. GSM providers are moving fast towards EDGE/3G technologies. Cheers!!!

I am talking about RConnect and I think Reliance Voice is on par with other major providers if not worse or better; I know since I use all [Landline, GSM, CDMA, GPRS, RConnect] extensively like many here. "Entry of Infocomm was easily a game-changer for Indian telecom industry. And despite R-connect .... I don't buy the argument that Infocomm has been ripping ...............There is even right now, no match for reliance in voice services. But more importantly, it was stick from reliance which brought sense to the GSM operators." There is a flip side. Customers have greater flexibility by choosing GSM as against CDMA. They can change their provider at any time without having to worry about investing on another handset. Here,I am only talking about Rconnect vs GPRS. I do certainly feel that the premium attached to Rconnect is not worth for its price considering the fact I can get a reasonably good service[if not better] at 5 times cheaper. Cheers!

“One India” was already suggested by the TRAI long back and NDA government was opting for this option as well. Maran is just speeding up things in this direction. First step is removing Chennai-TN, Mumbai-Maharashtra separation which benefited millions of subscribers and also increased in call volumes. In developed countries normally local providers do not charge for local calls and national level providers allow significant free minutes which amounts to thousands of INR. We can not compare Indian tariff with other countries. Indian consumers had to take the beatings from the providers for such a prolonged duration purely due to Shuk Ram and his Northi associates who bribed the bidding of various circles. There was no need for such separation when the bidding for mobile operation was initiated; the only reason why Maharashtra-Mumbai;TN-Chennai etc…came only for making more money by then infamous Manmohan era Congress led by Rao. Maran has already highlighted that all calls across the country would be made as local calls just like in US. You can retain the number even if you have to change your provider which is again a big boon the customers. The next logical step is making unlimited local calls within the subscribing areas just like developed countries. This way customers can opt for a package where he can effectively make use of his phone to the maximum extend and reduce the dependency of vehicles [by telecommuting], help reducing pollution etc… The future is total mobility and you can’t charge the customer at exorbitant rates. One India is the way to go.

bhutes, I do not wish to repeat what I have said already. You may like to spend Rs 1500 for internet connection alone, whereas I am interested in spending Rs 250 for internet connection and the remaining Rs 1250 for dining out. Either way both of us spend the same amount but at the end of it how we are spending is important. I am not debating here instead I am stating what is the tariff rates for different providers; I do not understand what is the big deal about saving money in one and spending it in something else. Do you sincerely believe Ambanis have the royal rights to rip yourself?

What about people using Rs 1,00,000 worth of Desktop and 100% of their brain to go for cost-effective service provider (which are plenty) instead of boasting themselves for making Ambanis billionaires?

Universal telephone number system and non-discriminatory services must be brought in. If you look at the tariff [http://www.bsnl.co.in/service/basictariff010503.htm] plans of BSNL [Landline] or any other provider you need to split your head to find out which plan is best for you. Simply minutes calculations and one telephone number system should be the way to go. This would enable Maran’s dream of One India where any one any where in the country can call the other with the same call rate. This in turn to help mobile providers to reduce over all call rates across mobile phones and land lines. Even after TRAI reducing ADC no major providers passed these benefits to customer. But the moment TRAI charges something they implement it from the next day.

I just want to make it very clear that there isn’t anyone forcing me to choose any plans , lastly not pathetic Ambanis or his devotees! Here I was zimply comparing the tariff plans and performance of RConnect and GPRS connections. I am capable of paying Rs 20K for Mobile connection that does not mean I will write a cheque every month to Ambani’s pockets. You may be arrogant but you can’t expect reward for being foolish! I have indeed accepted the fact that Rconnect “may be” little better in terms of performance though when I tested it out in my machine there was no appreciable speed increase. I do own Nokia 6255 and I have tried it out using Bluetooth connection. I am using SE Z600 for accessing internet thru Airtel GPRS. I do pay Rs 250 a month as a postpaid customer and infact I would still pay Rs 250 even if I were a prepaid customer. If Airtel does not offer this plan in your areas or if you experience appreciable difference in performance then you are welcome to enrich Ambani’s pockets, who cares?

Anujit, There is nothing to brag about speed but I was just mentioning that it was adequate for ordinary needs. I recommand the following bench-mark: Please go to the following link using your RConnect: http://www.musicindiaonline.com/p/x/7Jb2uoXypdNvwrOupt7D/ and let me know what you hear? This is my bench mark. I tested it in both Airtel GPRS & RConnect; I could not play the song. Yesterday, I downloaded more than 80 MB worth of file but after 8 hours. But how much you can download using Rconnect? If you go for a limited package you will be forced pay if the limit is exceeded.

I am not really getting your point. I am not regularly using Rconnect but I was just trying Rconnect to test its speed and other things for mere comparison with my Airtel GPRS connection. Otherwise, I can not talk about performance, isn't it? To me, I do not gain any performance improvement by connecting thru Rconnect (using my Nokia 6255). I have tried accessing similar sites using two connections. If Reliance charges me only Rs 250 for unlimited usage, I need not take up Airtel at all. This is my simple Point but I know Reliance want to rip more from your pocket which many are happily obliging. Compare the handsets with GSM providers, Reliance is way behind just because they have customers who are satisfied with anything.

Again you need to trust me. I have three connections, using Airtel Prepaid[350 Per month] & Postpaid [100 + 250] and Reliance postpaid [Joy499]. I have taken up an Airtel connection only for GPRS. I have signed up Rs 100 per month connection [Total Freedom 99] plus Rs 250 for GPRS. Including some voice usage, Service Tax, Clip charges it comes to Rs 450 Per Month. In Airtel, GPRS service is available thru prepaid connections as well for Rs 250 as a separate GPRS Card. I was originally having GPRS thru Prepaid connection. Since I had to pay Rs 330 + 250, I have decided against that. I may soon disconnect my Airtel Prepaid and convert it into postpaid. Because I use my Reliance phone as the primary phone for making outgoing calls (both Local + STD). Airtel connections only meant for receiving calls and for GPRS. Signing up means apply for the GPRS plan. Let me know if you have more questions.