I have been using Idea Cellular service for the past 2 yrs(post paid corporate plan) after using BPL, Idea(when it was AT&T), Airtel, Reliance, TATA Indicom in the past 8 yrs and I m very much satisfied with the service and network coverage of Idea though sometimes it vanishes at high altitudes(That is but obvious).
Good Points
As mentioned above, I have used almost all the cellular service providers except BSNL(dont even want to test it) and Hutch(earllier BPL. does it make any diff). Im comparing Idea service with all the other service providers. The plan I got with Idea(599 plan- 1200 mins/month Idea to Idea free and 100 sms free ) was one which I was looking for since most of frnds and all my family members have Idea .
* They have good post paid plans
* Net coverage is better than any other service provider in the market today. Its my 8 yrs of exp. and I live in a hilly area in Pune.
* Until now they havent cheated in billing. I check the bill sometimes as its not possible to check always.
* They send sms containing discount offers. I mean arent they userful? We do got out to eat and shop. So without paying extra if you are getting discount on eatables and accesories and clothing, isnt this a good Idea?
*Bad Points
Customer Service is not that good. The executives online have poor communication skills and lack of knowledge about the product. Sometimes they give wrong answers. I exp. this when I was activating GPRS.
* Less number of bill payment centers in pune and also whenever I go to this particular Bill Payment Center at Sinhgad Road, Pune their system is down. they don except debit/credit cards. they have only ONE person to collect payment requests. This is very very pathetic and irritating.
* My exp with Idea GPRS service is not that good. Its very slow. I m not comparing with ISPs but Airtel’s GPRS service is better. I deactivated it after 2 months of usage as it was wastage of money.
Overall I think Idea has good coverage and good plans. The only thing they need to work on is the CUSTOMER SERVICE. Customer Service is a crucial part. They can loose out on that.
Cheers!