Handset Purchase Monopoly !

[sunil_jok 2]

hi

i read somewhere that you have to buy handset from reliance only? is this true? i mean cant u buy handset from a foreign country and bring it and use it here?

because if it is true then its against the law.. a consumer has the right to choose what handset he should buy... and especially so if it is available in the market... u just need to place a complaint with the consumer court and they would be in deep trouble...

[niket 0]

i read somewhere that you have to buy handset from reliance only?

Where u read this i am also interested to read that?

[Chirag 5]

Well i assume that Reliance India Mobile's basic role is to offer just connections. They are telecom operators and not any telephone manufacturer or something.

In that case, they are liable to give just a connection to anyone who comes to them with a handset. Well, as i see, that they have worked out their entire marketing strategy in such a way that u wont really find a good CDMA mobile worth 5000 bucks in the open market at all. Anyways, i think we can purchase mobiles from anywhere and we have all the right to ask jus for the connection.

Does someone know of good CDMA mobiles avl in the market? and can they list the model nos. here? I'd rather go for some decent handset than the new stupid Motorola handset...

[drabhayshah 0]

Consumers should have the right to buy CDMA handsets from the market and then send them to Reliance for programming the handsets to Reliance network. This will allow the consumers to choose from a variety of CDMA handsets available in the market depending on the features. As people have now become more and more choosy about handset looks and features, this will further enable Reliance Infocomm to add more customers.

[Arun 795]

There aren't many CDMA handset models available in the country yet. Most of the CDMA opertors in USA/China give the option to customers for choosing their favourite CDMA handsets. This should be one reason why there isn't much models available in the Indian market.

[sunil_jok 2]

i saw it as a comment by a user on techtree.com.

[Dhirens 1]

A CDMA phone must be compatible in CDMA network. RIL has added many advance features in handset like R-Connect and etc. If RIL compatible phone with better features are available, RIL should not mind people using such phones.

I remember that in original offer, along with DAPO, there was a scheme where customer had to purchase cdma phone and can have phone connection where no commitment of 3 years was asked. For that scheme, RIL was selling LG phone for Rs.10500. Cistomer had right to disconnect a phone connection in one month also and need not return phone.

Let us first findout if any such scheme exist wherein a customer brings mobile instrument and he gets connection. No commitment.

Please post your views

Rgds,

Dhiren.

[sunil_jok 2]

A CDMA phone must be compatible in CDMA network. RIL has added many advance features in handset like R-Connect and etc. If RIL compatible phone with better features are available, RIL should not mind people using such phones.

I remember that in original offer, along with DAPO, there was a scheme where customer had to purchase cdma phone and can have phone connection where no commitment of 3 years was asked. For that scheme, RIL was selling LG phone for Rs.10500. Cistomer had right to disconnect a phone connection in one month also and need not return phone.

Let us first findout if any such scheme exist wherein a customer brings mobile instrument and he gets connection. No commitment.

if u r talking bout reliance making it mandatory that all handset has to be purchased from them, then i asked about it at the webworld and only then did i post it here. they told me that only handset distributed by them can be used and u cant buy handset from another person or co. they seem to have monopoly on the distribution of cdma handset.

they were selling handset but the point is they were selling. they were doing it so as to make a neat profit for themself. the customers didnt have to return it coz reliance had got the money for the handset, if they returned the handset then they wouldnt have made much profit.

there is no scheme by which reliance would allow ppl to bring in their own handset. i had put that after talking to the ppl at webworld, maybe u should have asked bout it to them

[Chirag 5]

A CDMA phone must be compatible in CDMA network. RIL has added many advance features in handset like R-Connect and etc. If RIL compatible phone with better features are available, RIL should not mind people using such phones.

Well, i understand that RIL has other better features too... But wht i meant while saying that we cud use a phone with maybe lesser features that may not be compatible with R-World, is that, there can be lesser end users who need not want such features! so if there is someone who doesn't wish to pay for all these additional services in the phone, can go for a cheaper handset, something like the new Motorola C131, and can still simply make n recieve calls!! Lets not forget that there are still ppl who use GARUDA(Mumbai) and TARANG(BSNL) where they just have the priviledge of making and recieving calls.. not even SMS!! And at damn cheap rates.. Reliance is no match their tariffs!!!!

remember that in original offer, along with DAPO, there was a scheme where customer had to purchase cdma phone and can have phone connection where no commitment of 3 years was asked. For that scheme, RIL was selling LG phone for Rs.10500. Cistomer had right to disconnect a phone connection in one month also and need not return phone. 

Yeps, i guess, TRAI had made it mandatory for all operators to keep a basic Standard plan open for all where the user can get their own handset and get a min connection and call rates... But invariably, under such plans, Operators keep the pulse of each call so low that it becomes uneconomical.... Like MTNL keeps 2min pulse for a local call from FIXED to FIXED in it... whereas other plans have 3 min pulse for a local call...!!

So customers are discouraged by ways of economics to go for such plans!

[Dhirens 1]

At present, CDMA phones are not available in market and one has to purchase CDMA phone from mobile service provider unlike GSM.

inquire in RWW ( A good RWW ) and you will find that last year in March - April, a scheme was available where one had to purchase mobile from RELIANCE and no other commitments to be made. The scheme was at par like MTNL. I dont know if such scheme exists today.

If you visit RWW today, you will understand that RIL is still selling instruments which are not offered for upgradations. LG CAMERA model is available that way even today. You can own that phone by paying full price and returning FREE INSTRUMENT that RIL gave you. ( FREE AS PER THEIR OFFER )

I clearly mentioned that a phone should be compatible in network. Hence one should understand that compatible phones for RIL networks are not available in market at the moment.

As far as profit is concerned, I have made no comments and its reliance's right to make profit.

Rgds,

Dhiren.

[niket 0]

as far as "to buy phones from Reliance" issue my personal view is there nothing to loose if we buy phone form reliance. their prices are very much comparable with open market of GSM.

only loose part is we have not more choices for handset and second hand phone market is not developed. so changing the handset is not easy.

[sunil_jok 2]

the fact remains that reliance wont allow us to buy cdma phones from anyone else. we have to use the phone they supply. i confirmed it.

reliance uses cdma 1x, and any phone which is combatable with it should work on reliance. and they dont have the right to change the technology to suit their needs. correct me if i am wrong, i only have that info 2nd hand.

i agree they gave phones like that. on full payment. but they actually made a bundle on that, check other posts for verification. they r allowing us to upgrade to camera phones because from the LG point of view it is good. coz they are able to sell higher models. but if u try to exchange ur samsung phone for LG then they wont allow it. coz then LG would be losing it.

what im trying to say is that reliance is not protecting the right of the consumers. they r protecting the profit of their suppliers.

combatable phones will be available only when reliance allows such phones to be used on their network.

" Is it necessary to buy phones from Reliance?"

consider that a statement rather than a question

also they r not giving the handset free. u have to pay Rs.100 as financing charges. and if u drop the connection then u have to pay a fine.

i am very much attracted by reliance, and i admire the co. but sometimes i find it necessary to speak up against their policies.

if u read all my posts then u would see i have been favouring reliance. it is just that im not blinded by admiration for them, but i think there are things which require more than a casual glance.

[Chirag 5]

What sunil meant, when he said "is it necessary to buy the handset from Reliance?" was that "dont we ahve the right to buy the phone from the open market?" and not that he was asking someone abt it... coz he had 1st hand info from the webworld abt it... The fact as Dhiren said was real clear that CDMA handsets are not available in the open market and only hence we have to buy it from Reliance only.

Reliance has been very smart by making deals with all the suppliers that CDMA handsets shud only go thru Reliance's channel and not be available in the open market until sometime... Reliance has set its targets for breaking even in a yr... and recovering 25000 crs in a yr is not something small... so they devised these strategies such that they could recover their money very soon... and thts how this monopoly was created...

[Chirag 5]

Alrite... its still been my personal contention that Reliance Infocomm is just a Telecom operator(service provider) and hence it does not have any right to make it mandatory for customers to buy the handset from them only! I should be able to buy any damn CDMA handset (obviously compatible with their network.. i.e. 1x 2000 3G handset) from the open market and use it with their network as we do for GSM... MTNL(Garuda) allows this for its customers... y cant Reliance do that...

A frnd of mine just told me that handsets sold by Reliance are available openly at Paris Bazaar in Chennai at a fraction of the cost at which Reliance boasts of selling... Like LG2030 is avl at Rs 2500 , Samsung 191 is avl at Rs. 3025 and even Nokia 2280 is avl there!!

Can anyone from Chennai pls confirm the above information and let us know??

And can anyone from a legal background find out whether it is mandatory to buy handsets from Reliance?

[sunil_jok 2]

is the handset they r selling with bill and warrenty, or is it stolen handset?

i remember studying that a co cant make a person buy related product just to use their product or service. especially when another product is available.

are there any lawyers in this forum??

[anujit 0]

its true there aren't any/many CDMA handsets in retail outlets today.

Reason... there arent many service providers to support them! I think even Tata allows you to bring in your own handset and Tata then activates it for you. There is no rocket science involved in developing & selling a plain CDMA 1x handset!

However there are several advantages of buying a service provider specific handset

1. 100% compatibility with the service provider .... all the service providers services will work on your handset and all features on your phone will be supported by them

2. lower cost for the handset and options to pay in parts over 1-3 years instead of buying the handset. since the service provider buys in bulk he should be getting a hefty discount which he can pass on to the consumer.

of course reliance doesnt give you benefit no.2 - their price is incredibly hefty for the volumes they purchased.

and of course price fluctuations (i.e. price drops) advantages are not given to the consumer as in the case of retail gsm handsets.

given all the facts i think reliance can allow the consumers to make a choice --- compatibility & service support vs. consumer choice.

reliance can offer better upgrade/migration plans to allow handset upgrades every 6 months or so & more competitive rates to encourage people to stick with their handsets.

also i doubt if switching/upgrading from lg to samsung to nokia to xxx is a problem because these handsets have already been sold by their respective companies to reliance and hence should be reliance's liability.

it is an issue if raised by the right people can be solved for the consumers benefit. because with regards to handsets reliance is surely taking everyone for a ride!