After a nightmarish four months on bpl mots, trump was a sigh of relief. Though getting the sim was nothing less than a marathon exercise. Once in, trump is a very good mobile service, the network has been improving over the period. If you take the peak our congestion of the other networks, then the call completion rate of Trump is far better than the most of its competitors. But the best is yet to come. i.e. its rate. For a refill of Rs324/-, you get an airtime of240. unlike the most providing only 150.
Outgoing Trump Others
Cell to Cell: 2.10 2.50
Cell to Landline: 2.50 2.90
Cell to Cell(STD): 2.90 3.60
Now, even these rates are not the straight ones.
For the others... 2.50 is from an airtime of 150....while you pay 300(Forget the 24 bucks service tax) so your effective cost of a minute’s cell to cell call is 5.00.
Where as for Trump 2.10 is from the airtime of 240... so your efffective cost of a minute’s cell to cell call is around 2.62...This is where it pinches..the other service providers literally charge you double of what trump charges...
If that wasn’t enough, the SMS charges from 01/01/04 are as low as Rs. 0.25 as compared to 1.5 to 2 bucks with other providers. This has been the biggest reason for me to stick to Trump.. Why make a call when you can get your message across at Rs. 0.25. You don’t have to think of replying or forwarding a message to a friend. Even STD messages are the same 0.25. (Sorry no ISD SMS facility)
And not to mention the exhorbitant charges on VAS<u>(Value Added Services)</u> which other provider charge.(Whooping 7 bucks--effective 14 for a ringtone).
Yes all this comes at a price. The network along the railway lines is poorer than the others. On the train, the signals do contain disturbance.... No VAS for downloading ringtones, operator logos, games, MMS. You can’t log in to MSN or Yahoo messenger through your mobile simply because MTNL Dolphin is not registered with them.
So I would conclude by saying that if you simply wanna be in touch and not flash your mobile around, then trump is the way to go... But if you have deeper pockets and a charitable mind, well there are many sharks waiting for a bait like you.