You feel lost without your mobile phone, don’t you?! It has become so much part of our lives that you feel you are in another planet if you don’t hear the constant ringing (or should that be called singing?!) of mobile phones.
In Chennai, there has been so much of competition amongst the service providers that it leaves you confused to choose the right one when you are buying for the first time. Having experienced services from three service providers so far, I just thought of sharing my experiences...
BSNL
The old, trustable, ’’traditional’’ service provider! BSNL is known for building a customer base mainly because of its trust, which to this date, is still going strong.
The BSNL pre-paid, I would say is quite hassle free. For that matter any prepaid. The only sore point is that there are technical difficulties at times. Like SMSs aren’t sent though the ’’Message Sent’’ is received. There are problems during call connecting. Most of the times a ’’Network-busy’’ is received. Another inconvenience is that starter packs aren’t available as widely as other operators. There are only 2 centres in Chennai (as far as I know) from where you can get your starter pack.
The Post-paid, did not seem to have any technical problems. However, the billing was pretty high compared to a pre-paid though the usage was similar.
Reasons to say Yes:
1. Wide coverage inside Tamil Nadu and also to an extent in the other southern states.
2. Good network of towers and you don’t have to switch to another operator if you are on roaming, especially within Tamil Nadu.
Reasons to say No:
1. You can’t choose your number! You are allotted the number once you submit your application form by an automated system.
2. No one seems to know the help desk/support number... and can’t find it on the net too!
3. Bad coverage in certain points even within the city. Had to put the phone near the window to hear it ring!
Airtel
I have been having this connection for almost 2 years now. I started with a pre-paid. Got the starter pack in a jiffy and re-charged wherever I remembered I had to re-charge! Even tea-kadais( small time tea shops) sell the recharger packs! Made lot of international calls... didn’t know how else to use up the money! I have had no hassles in connection, clarity or coverage (except inside my husband’s office about 20 kms away from the city, where no mobiles seems to pick up anyway).
One fine day I decided to convert my prepaid to a CUG, after much persuasions from my colleagues and dissuasion from my husband (’’why do you want to loose your freedom?’’). BTW, Airtel prepaid is now called Freedom! As soon as I decided to submit the application form, I started encountering problems. First, my prepaid balance started reducing gradually, automatically, without me making any calls (remember, I still hadn’t submitted my form then). I spoke to our corporate account representative. He said the problems will be solved soon as a lot of mobiles in the city were having the same problem. (Didn’t know if that was true.) He also promised that the entire balance in my pre-paid will be transferred to my post-paid (WOW! What more could you ask for!). So, with all the confidence of happy days ahead, I submitted my application for converting it to a post-paid.
Only after about 20 emails and 15 phone calls and more than 1 month of anxiety, did my pre-paid balance get transfered to my post-paid account. I wasn’t planning to let that off easily - I had more than Rs. 600, and I wanted every paise of it transferred. ( It’s my money, yaar!) Called up the pre-paid, they tell you to call post paid as you have a post paid connection. Call post-paid they tell you pre-paid has not transferred the balance to them. Call the corporate rep, he tells you ’’I’ll check up and let you know’’. Phew! But finally what got transferred was a little less than what I had when I made my last call in pre-paid. But at least I got something done!
Reasons to say Yes:
1. Good coverage. Picks up even if the phone is tucked away inside the garbage in my purse!
2. Good support. You can call up easy-to-remember numbers or email. Response is quick, though, sometimes, not helpful
3. Wide availability. You can sign up for post-paid connections in a lot of locations and prepaid packs are available widely
Reasons to say No:
1. Plans and offers keep changing and you are not intimated properly. All of a sudden you are charged extra or you money goes missing
2. Most of the charges are not openly disclosed. Only when you find some service has not been activated and you call the support, they advise you on the cost of the option.
3. Lot of options automatically available in pre-paid aren’t available by default in post-paid. One that I have found out so far is ISD.
Aircel (aka RPG)
We picked up the pre-paid after someone convinced my husband that it has good coverage. But that never happened. The coverage was very bad. The mobile wouldn’t pick up if kept away from window! The only satisfaction was that we got more talk time for the recharge amount we paid.
What made us move away from this operator was techincal problems. We started getting some calls claiming messages from this number though the support reported no such entry in the server. There were difficulties making outgoing calls. Incoming calls when picked up would be disconnected and lot more.
Our earlier RPG post paid gave lot of billing problems. Even after repeated calls to the support, the billing wasn’t updated and we got charged for services that we did not ask for.
Reasons to say Yes:
1. Good amount of talk time on prepaid
2. Wide availability of packs for pre-paid
Reasons to say No:
1. Bad coverage. Doesn’t pick up in a lot of places withing the city, though you can physically see the tower at some places!
2. Inconsistent billing.
Reliance Mobile
The only reason that has kept me away from this is its CDMA technology!
Note: I may have missed out on some/lot of advantages/disadvantages or even some service providers. My review above has been based entirely on my / my family’s experiences.