BSNL increases 3G Data tariff

The Telecom operators in India are these days in consolidation mode. Now the focus shifts from new acquisition to enhancing ARPU from users. Reluctantly, the customers will have to face the burnt on account of increased tariff. It all started with AirTel announcing tariff by 20 % in its freedom plans and other operators soon followed.

Now the state run PSU , BSNL too has decided to follow the suit and will increase 3G data tariff by 100% . BSNL has decided to increase the data usage rates for usage beyond free ,in all postpaid and prepaid plans , from existing 2p/10KB to 4p/10KB. This is the increase of 100% . Though in percentage term it looks big , but the 3G data charges of BSNL are still the cheapest in the market. It comes out to be Rs.4/MB while AirTel is charging Rs.15/MB and Vodafone Rs. 10/MB. It means that the pricing for 3G of BSNL and MTNL was fallacious.

Now BSNL has realized that the 3G data rates were not logical in view of high payouts for spectrum and seeing the competition rates and has thus decided to enhance the rates. The company has rationalized the 3G prepaid and postpaid data plans and increased the data rates and reduced some freebies.

• Data rates beyond free usage in all postpaid and prepaid plans increased from 2p/10KB to 4p/10KB.
• The free bundled data usage offered along with 3G data card reduced to 200 MB valid for 30 days.
• Postpaid plans Rs89, Rs. 189, Rs1819, Rs2720 and prepaid RCV Rs.2000 are withdrawn. These data data plans were offering huge free data for low price for ex. Rs.2000 RCV offered 22GB of free data.

After revision the free data usage in these plans have been reduced, for ex. RCV Rs.100 used to offer free usage of 250 MB which has been reduced to 225 MB.

BSNL 3G existing rates which will get changed from 16th September and the above rates will get effective are as given below:

Tips on Saving Mobile Data Bill

Mobile internet has gained substantial popularity in India. The companies like Aircel and TATA Docomo created primary demand for Mobile Internet and most of the Indians in non metros have experienced internet for the first time on Mobiles only. With the launch of 3G by operators in India, the popularity and subscription of data services have gone up substantially. The popularity of social networking sites, games, music and e-mail etc. have made mobile internet indispensable for youth. But if you are on tight budget and little frivolous especially with 3G connection you may end up with heavy bills.

Here are few tips on how you can keep your Mobile internet bill in check:

Avoid using pay as you use plans rather take data plan: If you frequently use mobile internet ,then it’s better to subscribe to some data plan. Pay as you use plans are normally very costly for ex. Airtel charges 30 paise/20 KB (Rs.15/MB), Vodafone 10 p/10KB. Rather the data plans are very cost effective and varied options too are available in the market.

Pay as you go plans are good for occasional users.

Switch to wi-fi wherever possible: Now free wi-fi hotspots are available at many cafes, restaurants, malls, Airports, institutions etc. Switch to free wi-fi for internet ,if your handset is wi-fi enabled. Even if at your home

Use browsers which use data compression Technology:

There are some browsers(like Opera mini) which compress the data before delivering to your mobile phone. This way it reduces data usage .

Open mobile versions of websites: Desktop versions of websites are normally very data heavy as these have images, ads etc. While the mobile versions of websites have important contents only and thus these loads in very minimum data download.

Do not keep configured e-mail accounts in Always ON/Update Mode:

If you keep your configured mails in always on mode then it automatcally downloads all the mails on to mobile as and when it is delivered in your mail box. Even spam mails too get downloaded and you are charged for that. It is better to access mails through browser if you want to keep data usage low.

Disable automatic software/ app updates:

Many of the softwares or apps keep running updation in background , if you have kept them in automatic update mode. It is wise to disable automatic update for these.

View Video content judiciously: Watching videos will not be a wise idea if you are on tight budget because 10 minutes of video may eat up data equivalent to around an hour of other normal stuffs. And control the temptation of clicking on View HD Video on 3G connection. Similarly do not upload high resolution images or videos .

Do not leave pages open for long , which automatically reloads periodically: Some of the websites automatically reload/ refresh their pages. Do not keep these open for long.

Celebrate Rakshabandhan and Independence Day with Vodafone

Vodafone has announced its SMS service to avail Raskhabandhan and Independence Day messages and greetings which customers can share with their loved ones. This service can also be availed for other events like birthday or daily greetings and quotes.

Both prepaid and postpaid customers can subscribe to these services and receive three SMS for different wishes and quotes. On sending WISH to 56789, the Rakshabandhan messages will be live from 12th and 13th August and the Independence Day messages will be live from 14th to 16th Aug. These greetings will be charged at Rs 3 per SMS.

To activate customers need to do the following:

• SMS WISH and send it 56789.
• Keywords for Rakshabandhan: WISH Rakshabandhan or WISH RAKHI.
  
• Keywords for Independence Day: WISH Independence day, WISH Independence, WISH 15thAug, WISH 15th Aug, WISH 15 August, WISH SwatantrataDivas, WISH Swatantrata Divas.

TATA Indicom introduces affordable BlackBerry plans starting Rs.99/-

TATA Indicom, the CDMA brand of TATA Teleservices has introduced three affordable BlackBerry data plans which are in the form of promotional offers for three months. New TATA Indicom subscribers , willing to take BlackBerry data plans will get benefit of the offer for three months after that normal plan rates will apply.

The three BlackBerry plans which offer various bundle of messaging, push mail & internet services are being offered at discounted rates. The essential BlackBerry messaging service (MaiLite) which offers access to 10 supported e-mail accounts along with BlackBerrry messenger and Instant messaging service is being offered at Rs.99/ month for three months. After three months standard rate of Rs.299/month will apply.

BlackBerry Internet service plan which gives access to 10 supported mails, BlackBerry messenger, instant messaging , social networking and internet service is being offered for Rs. 199/ month for 3 months. After that standard rate of Rs. 399 will apply.

BlackBerry Enterprise service which offers all of the above services plus access to corporate data and tight integration with IBM Lotus, Microsoft exchange or Novell Groupwise is being offered for R. 599/month for three months. The normal rates are Rs.900/ month.

With these offers ,TATA Indicom aims at attracting BlackBerry service aspirants to get hooked to its CDMA mobility service which is loosing attractiveness on account of enhanced preference for GSM service. TATA Photon plus is one CDMA product which has seen phenomenal success in data card segment.