IRCTC Goes Mobile Friendly, Launches Mobile Ticketing Portal

IRCTC the one stop portal for online rail ticket booking today launched its much awaited mobile portal , now rail commuters can book ticket from there own mobile phone by visiting IRCTC’s official mobile portal irctc.co.in/mobile.

Looking at the initial stage the site looks simple with clean interface and the loading time is also faster compared to its web portal, although when we tried to book a ticket in couple of occasions we were greeted with “communication failure error” we hope in coming days things would be stable.

BSNL Brings 100 Percent Cash Back Offer on EVDO Postpaid Data Card

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) Kolkata circle also known as Calcutta Telephones, comes up with a very exciting offer for new customers looking to opt BSNL EVDO data card in this festive season.
 

With EVDO data services via dongles getting popular from private players like Reliance Communications (Rcom), Tata Tele (Tata Docomo Photon Plus) and MTS India (MBlaze), the PSU BSNL has decided to offer 100% cash back offer on new postpaid EVDO data cards to attract more data card customers under its belt.

Now buy a BSNL EVDO Card at just Rs. 1500 and opt for postpaid unlimited 750 plan for 15 months, you will get 100% cashback in the form of Rs. 100 discount on monthly bill for 15 months.

Details of the 100% Cashback plan on BSNL EVDO:

EVDO Data card price	Rs. 1500
Postpaid plan to opt	Unlimited usage for monthly rental of Rs. 750
Benfits	Rs. 100 discount on monthly bill for 15 months

Note: This new scheme is applicable for new postpaid EVDO customers who have to opt postpaid-750 plan (with Truly Unlimited Usage).

New customers can also pay upfront Rs. 4500 (+tax) for 6 months True Unlimited postpaid plan or Rs. 5000 for 6 months Unlimited Prepaid plan and get the data card FREE of cost. Customers can also their own data card with BSNL CDMA RUIM card, while onetime activation charge of Rs. 350 is applicable.

For more details dial 1800 233 1500 or visit nearest Customer Service Center of Calcutta Telephones (exchange/office).

BlackBerry PlayBook Price Reduced, Now 16 GB For Rs.13200

BlackBerry Smartphone maker Research In Motion (RIM) today reduced the Price of BlackBerry PlayBook tablet as a special festive season promotional offer until December 31st, 2011 for all its perspective buyers in Indian market.

The tablet features Wi-Fi support and is available in 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB models at festive season price of Rs. Best Buy Rs. 13,200 /MRP Rs. 13490 (16 GB), Best Buy Rs. 15700 / MRP Rs. 15990 (32 GB) and Best Buy Rs. 23,990 / MRP Rs. 24990 (64 GB). Earlier it was priced at Rs. 27,990 (16 GB), Rs. 32,990 (32 GB) and Rs. 37,990 (64 GB).

The Playbook tablet has a 7-inch LCD multitouch screen with 1024 x 60o resolution. Powered by a 1 GHz dual-core processor, the device sports a 3 megapixel front facing and a 5 megapixel rear facing camera. The tablet is Wi-Fi enabled and has 1 GB RAM.

The BlackBerry PlayBook users can access the Internet through WiFi Hotspot connectivity as well as go online via their BlacKberry Smartphone by using a “BlackBerry Bridge” application and enabling bluetooth for data connectivity without any extra cost for data usage. Once they disconnect the bluetooth or move away, sensitive or secured data such as corporate e-mails and contacts are automatically wiped out from the PlayBook.

BSNL Launches Migration Voucher For Punjab Special F&F Prepaid Plan

India’s National Telecom Backbone and Pan India 3G mobile service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) today launched its Migration Voucher of Rs. 6 for its fully loaded “Punjab Special F&F Prepaid Plan with Free 200 SMS/month and Per second tariff for Existing GSM subscribers in Punjab circle.
 

With the launch of ‘Migration Voucher-6, now existing BSNL subscriber can enjoy the “Punjab Special F&F Prepaid Plan” without changing the mobile number. The Voucher will be available from tomorrow i.e. 28 December 2011. Existing Subscriber can migrate to this plan by sending SMS “HELP MIG” to 52244.

The Plan enables its subscribers to make calls to 5 Local Number of any network with in Punjab at reduced call rates 10p/min for BSNL numbers and 30p/min for any other network number registered under F&F scheme.

Tariff Detail of “Punjab Special F&F Pre Paid plan” 

Sl.No	Item	Revised Tariff plan for Punjab
1	Call Charges
1a	Local / STD / Roaming	1ps / sec to BSNL; 1.2ps/sec to other Networks
1b	ISD	As per  plan General Plan
2	SMS Charges
2a	Free SMS	200 Local SMS per month
2b	Charges beyond Free limit	Local = 50ps, National =60ps,                               ISD=Rs.5/-
3	Friends & Family Charges
3a	F & F Numbers	Any 5 no.s of Any Network (within Pb Circle ) To Activate F&F Numbers : Send SMS  ‘EXLPOWER’ (space) Number1 (space) Number2 (space) Number3 (space) Number4 (space) Number5 to 53733 NOTE : — Mobile Numbers have to be inputted without any 0 eg 9463000000. Landline Numbers have to be inputted with code eg 01722646600
3b	F & F Charges(On-Net)	10ps/min
3c	F & F Charges(Off-Net)	30ps/min
3d	Change of F & F numbers	Rs. 10/- per change
4	Validity	Validity extended proportionately on recharge with  recharge /top Up
5	All other charges	As per   1p/sec  prepaid plan
8	STV Applicability	All STVs (except Service class based and SMS STV) are allowed

.

New RC/Top-Up 250 :

Apart from above Migration Voucher, BSNL Punjab also launches RC/Top-Up of Rs. 250 which offers talk time worth Rs. 350 and Validity period of 100 Days. This RC-250 will be available from 29 December 2011 to 4 January 2012.

Aircel Launches RC27, STD Calls 30p Minute

AIRCEL, one of the fastest growing Pan India telecom operator today announced the launch of new Rate Curter-27 (Special Tariff voucher) for its prepaid GSM mobile service customer in Tamilnadu and Chennai telecom circle to make STD calls at cheapest rates.
 

The RC-27 is priced at Rs. 27 wherein one can make Local and STD calls to any mobile numbers across India at 30 paisa minutes valid for 30 days from the date of recharge.

To subscribe or check plan validity Aircel Chennai /Tamilnadu customers can dial *333*27# from their mobile phone. For more details one can dial 98420-12345 /98410-12345 or 121 from Aircel.

MTNL Launches Xpress Unlimited Broadband Plans With 2Mbps Speed

Mumbai’s largest Broadband service provider Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) today announced the launch of 4 new Unlimited Broadband Combo Plans dubbed as “2 Mbps Xpress Unlimited Broadband Plans” with fair usage cap in Mumbai circle.
 

MTNL Mumbai’s 2 Mbps “Xpress Unlimited Broadband Combo Plans” (with FUP on Speed) comes at Rs. 600, Rs. 750, Rs. 1000 and Rs. 1500 per month. Plan-600 provides 8 GB data usage at 2 Mbps speed and 256 Kbps beyond the 8 GB usage.

While Plan-750 and Plan-Rs.1000 plans offer 15 GB and 22 GB Data usage at 2 Mbps speed and beyond fair usage cap, speed will be 512 Kbps for further Unlimited downloads. With Plan-1500, subscriber get 22 GB Data usage at 2 Mbps speed thereafter, speed will be 1 Mbps for further Unlimited downloads.

Apart from above new plans with Speed Cap, MTNL Mumbai also offers various True Unlimited Broadband Plans without any fair usage policy on speed and data usage starting from Rs. 395 per month.

MTNL Xpress Unlimited Broadband Combo Plans
Particulars	Xpress Unlimited-600	Xpress Unlimited-750	Xpress Unlimited-1000	Xpress Unlimited-1500
Monthly Rental	Rs. 600	Rs. 750	Rs. 1000	Rs. 1500
Download Speed	2 Mbps up to 8GB download,  256 Kbps thereafter	2 Mbps up to 15 GB download, 512 Kbps thereafter	2 Mbps up to 22 GB download,  512 Kbps thereafter	2 Mbps up to 60 GB download,  1 Mbps thereafter
Monthly Landline Charges/Rent	FREE	FREE	FREE	FREE
Installation Charges for new connection	Rs. 300 Waived off as Limited Period offer	Rs. 300 Waived off as Limited Period offer	Rs. 300 Waived off as Limited Period offer	Rs. 300 Waived off as Limited Period offer
One Time ADSL Modem Upfront charges (if taken from MTNL)	Normal Rs. 300,  WiFi – Rs. 600	Normal Rs. 300,  WiFi – Rs. 600	Normal Rs. 300,  WiFi – Rs. 600	Normal Rs. 300,  WiFi – Rs. 600
Monthly Modem Rent (if taken from MTNL)	Rs. 50	Rs. 50	Rs. 50	Rs. 50
For bookings and more details call 1500 (toll free) from MTNL or 022-22221500 / 1800221500 from any other network phone.

Tata Docomo SmartPicks – Offer Extension on LG Optimus E 510

In our last article “Tata Docomo SmartPicks – Offer Extension on Xperia arc S” we saw a cool Gadget under the Tata Docomo smart pick getting a good response.

Again Tata Docomo is extending its smartpick to LG with smartpick Wings to LG Optimus E 510. LG Optimus runs on Android OS 2.3 Version (Gingerbread) which has a powerful 800-Mhz processor, Its also have 5 Mp camera with 2592?1944 pixels, auto focus, LED flash & Geo-tagging, face and smile detection.

Tata DOCOMO will be offer exciting pre-pay and post-pay data packages to all Optimus E 510 customers.

Matrix Cellular Now Offers Data Solutions on International Roaming

Matrix Cellular has come up with new services to its bouquet addressing the innate need of people to stay connected at all times who are on international roaming. 
 

Using data services on your Smartphone while on International Roaming can be a costly ordeal. Unknown to many, reading emails, browsing through websites or even using your BBM while travelling on International Roaming can be expensive.

The new service allows travelers to be constantly accessible on mail, talk on phone and surf the internet at the same time, schedule and coordinate appointments in the middle of meetings, raise approval request, log in orders, update business databases and stay connected to colleagues, friends and family through Facebook and Messenger Services  from anywhere, anytime without worrying about inflated bills

.

Charges are levied per MB and at an average cost of Rs. 750 per MB and one may spend Rs. 1500 just by checking one email. Every status update on Facebook can be charged up to Rs. 52 and using BBM can cost up to Rs. 3000 per day on International Data Roaming. 

Using all these services with a Matrix SIM card on your Smartphone will be just one- tenth the cost of International Roaming Data charges which means more money saved.

Vodafone India Responds To DOT Decision To Shutdown 3G Roaming

DoT has asked Airtel, Vodafone and Idea  to stop its 3G Roaming via ICRA in non 3G circles with in 24 hours and have given a deadline which will end on Saturday 3 PM.

Now Vodafone India respond to the same and issued a official statement stating “We received the notification from DoT after normal business hours today. “We think that this decision of DoT is completely unreasonable.”

“As stated earlier, the 3G roaming agreements that Vodafone has entered into with other operators are in complete compliance with all Government rules and regulations and this issue was specifically clarified by DoT before the 3G auction was held. Based on this clarification, we went into the auction in good faith.”

“Now, to completely reverse the stand, is totally irrational. It is going to affect millions of our customers adversely and we think it is a retrograde step by DoT. Also, giving a notice at this late hour with courts having gone on vacation from this afternoon is totally arbitrary.   We will take suitable course of action to protect our  and our consumers’ interest.”

So as a consumer what’s your take on this issue ?

Internet Access is top Priority, Opera Mini Tops at Samsung App Store

Opera Mini now topped the most popular mobile browser in Samsung Java Apps Store which is now used by over 144 million people across the world.
 

Samsung Java Apps Store is a marketplace designed to provide a variety of mobile applications especially developed and carefully selected for Samsung mobile phones.

It can be accessed by all Samsung Java phone users from m.in.samsungapps.com. Opera Mini is available as a free download there.

When using Opera Mini, webpages are optimized and compressed before being sent to your phone.Therefore, the data transferred to your phone is significantly reduced, making mobile surfing cheaper. Opera Mini works on more than 3,000 mobile phone models, ranging from basic Java phones to the latest OS.

Tata Docomo Launches FRC 59 And RC 31

Tata Docomo today announced a long term First Recharge coupon and a Super rate cutter for Karnataka circle GSM customers for the local users.
 

Where customer can enjoy all local on-net calls (Tata to Tata mobiles) mobile calls at just 1ps/6secs (effective10ps/min) for new activation on FRC 59 with 60 days validity and also customers can enjoy all other local calls at 1p/2sec.

With these recharge customer can also enjoy 198 free Local/National/day for 60 days. First two sms of the day will be charged at .50ps/sms. 

For existing Customers need to recharge with RC 31 he/she wants to enjoy the benefits with 30 days validity.

	FRC 59	RC 31
Tariff Validity	60 days	30 days
Tariff
Talktime	Rs. 20	0
Local
T2T	1p/6secs (10ps/min)	1p/6secs (10ps/min)
T2O	1p/2secs (30ps/min)	1p/2secs (30ps/min)
Landline	1p/2secs (30ps/min)	1p/2secs (30ps/min)
STD
T2T	1.2ps/sec	As per the Base Plan
T2O	1.2ps/sec
Landline	1.2ps/sec
SMS	198 Free sms/day, First  2 sms of the day @ .50/ps	198 Free sms/day, First  2 sms of the day @ .50/ps
Local	1 Re/sms	1 Re/sms
National	1.50 Re/sms	1.50 Re/sms
International	5 Re/sms	5 Re/sms

DoT Asks Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular To Stop 3G Roaming Via ICRA

India’s Telecom Ministry finally asked Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular to called off their mutual agreement for 3G roaming and stop 3G Roaming services via ICRA.

The final decision taken by Department of Telecom after the unanimous view of telecom regulator TRAI, Law Ministry and DoT that such roaming agreement was in violation of the telecom licences (3G/UAS/CMTS) and allegations of alleged revenue losses to the exchequer because of these pacts.

If you Remember, Tata Docomo and AIRCEL called off their mutual agreement for Intra circle 3G Roaming services on 14th December as we reported but Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular were continue providing the 3G service via ICRA.

The current licence terms and conditions allow operators to go in for Roaming agreements to enable their subscribers to get seamless mobile network coverage as they move from one circle to other circle in India wherein they doesn’t have any network/spectrum or services.

But in 3G services, all private operators are selling their 3G products and new connections even in circles where they do not have 3G spectrum/licence. Operators having 3G spectrum pay higher revenue share in the form of ‘ 3G spectrum usage fee’.

Angry Birds Now on BlackBerry PlayBook

Just in time for the Christmas holidays, the popular game/series from Rovio, Angry Birds, Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds Season, is now available on your BlackBerry PlayBook! Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition, and lots of replay value. Use logic, skill, and brute force to crush the evil pigs!

Remember to use the new Request a Gift feature in BlackBerry App World 3.1 to send your BBM friends a request to buy you Angry Birds and start catapulting some birds!

The survival of the Angry Birds is at stake. Dish out revenge on the green pigs who stole the Birds’ eggs. Use the unique destructive powers of the Angry Birds to lay waste to the pigs’ fortified castles.

Angry Birds features hours of gameplay, challenging physics-based castle demolition and lots of replay value. Each of the 288 levels requires logic, skill, and brute force to crush the evil pigs.

The apps costs Rs. 185.50 and can be found on BlackBerry App World.

Salora Now offers 7.2Mbps 3G Data Card At Rs. 1900

Salora has come up with  Zapper-3G Data Card which now supports fast download speeds up to 7.2Mbps and upload speeds up to 5.76Mbps.

Operating on HSPA/UMTS 2100MHz frequency with support for EDGE/GPRS/GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz.

The device offers a high speed USB 2.0 support along with an external memory slot via Micro SD of 32 GB capacity it has an internal antenna for ease-of-use and puts in an inbuilt multi color LED status indicator for clear display.

Enabled with multiple operator functionality wherein users can insert any SIM card of their choice and use the device for high speed internet access, the 3G Data Card offers features like Voice Call through GUI, Phonebook and SMS support and many other features .

Salora Zapper 3G Data Card priced at Rs. 1900.

Airtel Rajasthan Launches New Prepaid Packs, Offers Own Net Calls at 25p

Bharti Airtel, today announced the launch of new recharge offers for customers in Rajasthan telecom circle that will allow them to enjoy rates as low as 25 paisa per minute for all Airtel to Airtel calls within the state.

Airtel Rajasthan’s, prepaid customers can now purchase Airtel-to-Airtel local call minutes as part of this offer in recharge denominations of Rs. 10, Rs. 45, Rs. 165 and Rs. 300 for different validity periods.

The recharge benefits of this pack are listed below:

MRP of pack (in Rs) 10 : Local Airtel to Airtel talktime (in mins): 40, Validity 1 Day,  Effective call Rate/minute (in Rs): 0.25

MRP of pack (in Rs): 45 : Local Airtel to Airtel talktime (in mins): 180, Validity (in days): 5, Effective Rate/minute (in Rs): 0.25

MRP of pack (in Rs): 165 :Local Airtel to Airtel talktime (in mins): 400 Validity (in days): 30, Effective call Rate/minute (in Rs): 0.41

MRP of pack (in Rs): 300 : Local Airtel to Airtel talktime (in mins): 1200 Validity (in days): 30, Effective Rate/minute (in Rs): 0.25.

Exclusive: Now Enjoy BSNL 3G Data Plans at Discounted Price For 3 Months

India’s National Telecom Backbone and Pan India 3G mobile service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) today announced the extension of its promotional offer of 3G Data Plans at discounted rates for 3 months.
 

Now BSNL 3G subscriber (Prepaid and Postpaid) using 5000 MB, 10,000 MB and 15000 MB plans can enjoy discounted price up to 40% for another period of 3 months i.e.up to 31st March 2012. Earlier the 3G Data benefit offer was valid till 31st December 2011

.

on 6th September this year, BSNL has revised its 3G Data offerings and announced the new increased price of certain Prepaid STVs and Postpaid Fixed Monthly Charge (FMC) as we earlier shared on TelecomTalk.

Interestingly, leading private operators like IDEA Cellular, Vodafone India, Aircel and Reliance Mobile (Rcom) launched such a discount scheme called as “Double Dhamaka” or “Double Data Benefits” offer valid till December 2011 and BSNL’s  Discounted 3G Data Plans was also valid till 31st Dec 2011.

Well, now BSNL extended its offer to the 31st March 2012. Lets see private operators follow this move to provide affordable 3G or not !

Prepaid 3G Data Plans /STVs
MRP of  3G Data STVs	Discounted Price of 3G Data STVs. (Valid till 31st March 2012	Free Data Usage(Home and Roam)	Validity
Rs. 1250	Rs. 750	5000 MB	30 Days
Rs. 1800	Rs. 1260	10000 MB	30 Days
Rs. 2250	Rs. 1575	15000 MB	30 Days
Note: Price may vary from Circle to Circle by Rs. 3 (+/-) considering local market conditions etc. Beyond Free usage data charges will be Rs.0.04 /10KB

Postpaid 3G Data Plans
FMCs 3G Data Plan	Discounted Price of 3G Data FMC (Valid till 31st March 2012	Free Data Usage(Home and Roam)	Data Charges Beyond Free Usage
Rs. 1133	Rs. 680	5000 MB	4p/10 KB
Rs. 1633	Rs. 1143	10000 MB	4p/10 KB
Rs. 2039	Rs. 1427	15000 MB	4p/10 KB

BlackBerry Bold 9900 White Smartphone Now in India

RIM today announced the launch of the BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone in Pure White for Indian customers priced at Rs. 34990 .
 

The new BlackBerry Bold 9900 is the first BlackBerry smartphone to include built in support for NFC (Near Field Communications).

BlackBerry Bold 9900 comes with BlackBerry 7 O.S which is significantly faster vombining the dramatically improved performance of the advanced WebKit browser engine together with powerful hardware enhancements.

RIM claims BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone delivers browsing results that are up to 40% faster than BlackBerry 6 based smartphones and up to 100% faster than BlackBerry 5 based smartphones.

Distinguished by its high performance, beautiful design, amazingly effective keyboard and brilliant touch display, the Pure White BlackBerry Bold 9900 is crafted with premium materials including a brushed stainless steel frame that puts the finishing touch on a truly outstanding smartphone.

Vodafone India To Discontinue Inactive Prepaid Mobile Connections

Vodafone Essar the second largest GSM operator in India, said that it will discontinue mobile services for prepaid customers on numbers that have no usage i.e., no Voice Calls (Incoming or Outgoing), SMS & Data for any continuous period of 60 days
.

Prior Airtel has also made it mandatory with 60 days disconnection norm ,according to Vodafone’s statement this guideline has been implemented because Department of Telecom’s (DoT) stringent guideline for allocation of new number series based on subscribers in VLR has created acute shortage of mobile numbers, for any telecom /mobile service provider company.

Vodafone’s all new customers will be intimated of the deactivation process in their starter kits while existing customers will be informed via SMS and outbound calls wherever possible.

This information is also updated on Vodafone website.

Tata DOCOMO Photon Plus Now For Rs. 1199 Comes With Cash Back Plans

Tata DOCOMO, the unified telecom brand of Tata Teleservices today announced a special price reduction on Tata DOCOMO Photon Plus EVDO Mobile Broadband services while making it available at a competitive price of just Rs. 1199.
 

Not only this, the new Tata DOCOMO Photon Plus customers will get additional advantage of 100 per cent cash back offer on selected postpaid plans as well as Device Free Plans with long term comitments over postpaid service.

These customers will get a discount of Rs. 100 on their monthly bill amount for the next 12 months making the device absolutely free.

Tata DOCOMO Photon Plus “Cash Back” Plans :

 

Tata DOCOMO Photon Plus “FREE Device” Plans :

Vodafone NetCruise Launched in 15 Circles

As you can remember we shared that Vodafone has started a pilot project in selected cities to offer EVDO based wireless broadband services on dongle using MTS India’s network.
 

After completion of successful run of Vodafone NetCruise in selected cities of southern states, Vodafone goes further and launches MTS’s EVDO services under own NetCruise brand in more circles.

Currently Vodafone NetCruise is available in 15 circles in the country – Kerala, Karnataka, Andra Pradesh, Maharastra, Goa & Mumbai, Chennai & Tamilnadu, Gujarat, Rajasthan, West Bengal & Kolkata, Delhi and NCR, Bihar, Haryana, UP – East & West.

NetCruise service supports upto 3.1 Mbps downlink and upto 1.8 Mbps uplink over MTS’s EVDO network. The data card (ZTE AC2746 & others) is priced very competitively at Rs. 499.

Outside EVDO coverage users can access internet over MTS 1X network which supports upto 153Kbps. Free browsing is available on Yahoo India & Wikipedia.

NetCruise is available in both prepaid & postpaid options. The plans are different in different circles. At initial state prepaid option is made available in all circles, and postpaid is available in Mumbai & will be offered to other circles soon. Check the plans for your circle – www.netcruise.in

Finally BSNL Revises Broadband Plans, But No Cheers!

For last 2 months, we were really excited to see bandwidth upgrade on BSNL’s wired ADSL broadband plans.

But it is pity that BSNL fails (as usual) to feel the pulse of the subscribers.They increased the bandwidth on selected plans ( Combo625 & 750UL ) but upto a certain usage, leaving the subscribers in a mourning state.

In Andra Pradesh BSNL has lost many broadband customers due to ultra high speed fibre based broadband offering by Beam Telecom.

Beam packages are made very affordable to both home and office users.

Details of revised broadband plans

	Rental per month	Broadband usage	Free Calls
Plan 1	Rs 625	4GB upto 512kbps, then 256kbps UL	100
Plan 2	Rs 750	6 GB upto 1Mbps, then 512kbps UL	nil

The revision has been confirmed from Hyderabad Telecom district, Andra Pradesh Circle, BSNL.

We simply do not understand BSNL’s marketing policy, it would be great if BSNL gives the double bandwidth during night hours as MTNL is also offering such plans. We expect with 4G roll out many users will move out from BSNL broadband.

BSNL Choose Your Mobile Number Online Goes Pan India

Pan India 3G mobile service operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) all set to launch its Online Mobile Number Reservation initiative dubbed as “Choose your Mobile Number” scheme for its prospective mobile customers across all telecom circles.

In November, BSNL introduces “Choose your Mobile Number” Portal (under its AP circle website) for Andhra Pradesh circle as we reported. Apart from AP circle, now “Choose your Mobile Number” online service is launched and available in Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Chennai and will be extended to Kerala, Maharashtra – Goa, Gujarat and all other circles in next few days (from 16th December 2011 onwards).

With this online service, customer can select any prepaid mobile number (maximum 1 number at a time) by his/her choice from the available more than 1 lakh numbers on their circle’s website under “Choose your Mobile Number” portal page.

After selecting and reservation of the desired mobile number, prospective customer will get 7 digit PIN number via SMS. Customer needs to visits the nearest BSNL CSC or Franchise with required documents and PIN with reserved mobile number to get the prepaid connection as per his/her choice. The reserved or selected mobile number from on-line portal will be valid for 96 hrs or 72 hrs (depend on circle).

Tata Docomo and Aircel Terminate 3G Roaming Deal

Tata DOCOMO, the unified telecom brand of Tata Teleservices and AIRCEL the fifth largest mobile service provider today called off their mutual agreement for Intra circle 3G Roaming services.

According to our sources, both operator ended the deal soon after the Government/Department of Telecom said that such 3G ICRA or arrangements were illegal. 3G Roaming arrangement between Tata Docomo and Aircel was operational since July 19th, 2011 as we reported earlier.

Few days back the Telecom Ministry also said it will soon take action against service providers that have entered into roaming agreements for 3G services, as the pacts violate licence terms and conditions.

Apart from the Tata Docomo and Aircel, leading private telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and IDEA Cellular had also entered into ICRA for providing a 3G roaming service on a pan-India basis but have not pulled back the 3G service so far till the time.

The current 3G / UAS /CMTS licence terms and conditions allow operators to go in for Roaming agreements to enable their subscribers to get seamless mobile network coverage as they move from one circle to other circle in India wherein they doesn’t have any network/spectrum or services. 

But in 3G services, all private operators are selling their 3G products and new connections even in circles where they do not have 3G spectrum/licence. Operators having 3G spectrum pay higher revenue share in the form of ‘ 3G spectrum usage fee’, and the DoT is concerned about allegations of alleged revenue losses to the exchequer because of these pacts.

Presently on state run telecom operators BSNL and MTNL providing pan India 3G services with all legal terms and conditions of 3G licence.

 

Airtel Gifting Services Now Share Talktime or Gift Packs With Family & Friends

Airtel today announced the availability of Airtel Gifting services for its prepaid mobile customers in India.

Airtel subscribers can now dial *141# to send and receive talk time to each other and even give away mobile services’ gift packs.

Even when a subscriber is on zero balance Airtel prepaid customers can now also send an emergency ‘call me back’ SMS alert to a friend.

This is possible even when the customer has no balance, and is unable to even make a missed call.

To avail this, Customers simply need to dial *141#. This service allows an Airtel prepaid mobile customer to send upto 5 call me back SMS alerts per month to other Airtel customers absolutely free of cost.

Nokia Unveils Bold New Retail Format For The Nokia Lumia Smartphones

In time for the upcoming launch of the Nokia Lumia 800 and 710 smartphones, Nokia India today unveiled its all-new and refreshed retail strategy to consumers in Mumbai.

The Nokia Lumia 800 is likely to be priced at Rs.29999 and the 710, at Rs 19999, said Prashanth Mani, Regional General Manager(West), Nokia India. The pre-booking for both smartphones already started at Nokia stores as well as its website.

Under its “Amazing Everyday campaign” the company will involve television and print advertising, besides digital and social media promotions, mall activations, Flash Mob and road shows.The launch will cover six major cities, and expand to more in a subsequent phase.

As part of this initiative, over 5000 of Nokia’s top retail stores across the country will sport a stunning new identity. The new elements include a strong visual experience with 3D and 2D in-store branding and a luminescent range of white furniture.

Prashanth Mani, Regional General Manager (West), Nokia along with Indian Tennis Player, Sania Mirza unveils bold new retail format for the Nokia Lumia family and Rolls out ‘The Amazing Everyday’ campaign in Mumbai

A specialist field sales force will deliver an unparalleled experience to consumers on live devices placed at every retail outlet selling Nokia Lumia smartphones. Nokia CARE Experience Centres (NCEC) outlets have also been refreshed to offer the Lumia experience to consumers. Additionally, Lumia consumers will get special benefits that include no queuing, free home delivery and expert guidance.

Nokia further announced the launch of its 360 degree digital and marketing campaign for consumers in Mumbai. Titled ‘Amazing Everyday’the campaign will aim at making everyday moments more amazing with unique experiences created for the consumers across the city.

Uninor Now Offers Local And STD Calls at 30 Paise Per Minute

Uninor today announced the launch of lowest call rate of 30paise per minute for both new and existing subscribers in the Kolkata circle.

Customers can now enjoy both local and STD calls at 30paise per minute with the special tariff vouchers of Rs. 23, 29 and 36 for 30days.

To restate their campaign ‘Kom Dame Besi Kotha’, Uninor offers the cheapest call rates of 30paisa per minute for its both new and existing subscribers in Kolkata.

Uninor offers STV23 to its new and existing customers with local calls to any network at 30paise per min for 30days.If a  subscriber wants to enjoy cheapest STD call rates of 30paisa per min to any network can opt for STV 29.

Moreover Uninor users can enjoy both local and STD calls to any network at 30 paisa / minute for a month can choose STV 36.

Reliance Cuts Down 3G-HSPA Dongle Price

Telecom in India is highly competitive market and operators struggling hard to lure people by lowering entry point for data service .

By introducing low cost smartphones or by cuting down prices of data cards after all data gives more revenue than voice.

Recently MTS India cuts down their EVDO MBlaze dongle price to Rs 999.Now Reliance Commnucations also takes the step and offers 3G-HSPA dongles at a lower cost. RCom offers 3G-HSPA dongles manufactured by ZTE and Huawei.

Now Reliance 3G data cards are available at as low as Rs 1699 (7.2Mbps) and Rs 3099 (21.6Mbps). For more details visit Reliance World Store.