BSNL Signed ICRA with Airtel To Offer improved 2G Services

BSNL which has a commercial presence in 20 circles plans to improve its network coverage for its subscribers by signing an Intra circle roaming agreement with the largest telecom operator by subscriber base Bharti Airtel on a Pan India scale. BSNL which currently has close to 1,10,000 base stations and covers approximately 72% of India’s population will benefit with the wider network footprint of Bharti Airtel which has 1,42,898 base stations and covers 87% of India’s population. BSNL has invested about Rs 4,000 crore in the latest network expansion (phase 7) which is expected to be completed by June 2015.

Mr. Anupam Shrivastava, Chairman and Managing director of BSNL said to PTI “We are soon going to sign a pan-India intra-circle roaming agreement with Airtel with a focus to strengthen coverage in rural areas. Commercials are being worked out. This is most likely to be signed within a month.”

BSNL is trying to cut down on the capital expenditure in network expansion by limiting the cost of setting up new base stations and taking advantage of the provisions of active and passive infrastructure sharing. This should come as a breath of fresh air for the BSNL subscribers who were hoping for better coverage, now BSNL should look at bettering its customer service department as well and if need be outsource it to a company who can handle it at standards comparable to ones offered by private telcos.

Impact of ICRA on end users:

There has been a steady flow of complaints to DOT on PG portal about BSNL’s unsteady network, patchy coverage, high rate of call drops, failed SMS delivery and prolonged down time. The non addressal of these complaints had forced subscribers to switch to private operator’s networks. With the conjunction of Airtel’s superior network and wide footprint most of these issues will be resolved. There will be smoother transition while signal hopping from one tower to another while on the go, which in turn will reduce the frequency of call drops. Indoor coverage inside residential and commercial complexes will be enhanced and pockets of zero coverage will be considerably reduced. Since there will be dual coverage, the downtime of one network will be made up by the presence of the partner network. All in all it is a step in the right direction. Do let us know how do you look at this move from BSNL

ICC World Cup 2015: RCom Offering free 2MB 2G/3G Data on each Run scored by India and 4MB if India Wins

It is world cup season and everyone is cheering for team India. Reliance Communications has come out with a great offer for its subscribers by offering 2MB extra for each run scored by India and 4MB if India wins the match.

The offer is available for select prepaid data packs for each circle on 2G,3G and CDMA. The extra data will be added to the existing benefit already given in the data pack. The offer is applicable to the following period in which team India play in the world cup, 13-15 Feb, 20-22 Feb, 4-6 Mar, 8-10 Mar, 12-14 Mar. The extra data will be added within 2 days of the matches.

Yesterday Team India scored an amazing 300 runs against South Africa and Reliance is giving 1200MB extra for winning the match. This offer is one the best this world cup season and is available for all mobile data subscribers of Reliance. The more team India scores in the world cup, the more free data you get from Reliance.

Vodafone ‘HAPPY HOURS’ Offering 100MB Free 2G/3G Data from 2pm to 4pm

Get 100MB 2G/3G data Vodafone Happy Hours (2pm – 4pm) Get free gifts

Here is what you have to do !!

Step 1 : Activate 3G on your Vodafone SIM by dialing *444*8#. Now you will Get 30MB 3G data and credit your a/c with 8 rupees or you can get 2G data without any pack by dialing *444#

( This step to be done once only. If you have already activated 3G please Ignore this step)

Step 2 : Dial *444*88# From Your Vodafone SIM.

Step 3 : If You Are Lucky enough ,Then You Will Get 100 MB Data , else you will get some Call related plans or 100MB for Rs.2

Step 4 : If You get 100 MB data then activate the same.Thus you Will Get 100 MB Free Data For 2PM-4PM .

Notes :

This Trick Can Be Used Daily following  these steps ( From step 2  – 4 )

To check Your Internet Balance . Dial *111*6*2#

*The Internet will not work in 0 rupees balance. Enjoy Friends…

If you have an existing plan, it will be lost by activating this one.

Tata Docomo hiked 2G Data Rates

Tata Docomo which is often praised for offering the most affordable data packs in the country have silently hiked the 2G tariff in Punjab circle. The Rs.95 pack which had 600MB of 3G data now offers only 475MB. 1GB Data pack which was charged earlier at Rs.126 is now hiked to Rs.148. The Rs.56 recharge which used to give the users free data usage of 350MB now gives only 300MB of free usage.

This hike in the 2G prices seems to be an attempt by Tata Docomo to force users to switch to 3G. If we compare the price difference between 2G and 4G than it can be noticed that it is almost nil. 1GB 2G pack will cost Rs.148 and 1GB 3G pack will cost Rs.175.

Airtel has also reduced the validity of the 3G packs making it one of the costliest 3G services. The 3G speeds in India are suffering yet operators are hiking the tariffs and we feel that its high times operator start boosting the speeds and increase the FUP speeds. Here are some screens that depict the price hike in Punjab circle.

Vodafone India Hiked 2G & 3G Mobile Internet Rates

Vodafone India increases 2G and 3G rates to 4 paise per 10KB from 2 paise per 10KB”

Vodafone India has increased mobile internet tariffs for 2G and 3G subscribers. The new rates for pay-as-you-go pre-paid and post paid users are now 4 paise per 10KB, 10KB that the operator charged earlier. Vodafone India had earlier reduced its mobile internet rates to 2 paise per 10KB from 10 paise per 10KB.

However, even after the increased rates, Vodafone’s pay-as-you-go internet tariffs are among the lowest in the country for both pre-paid and post-paid customers. The increased rates will follow a phased roll out across the telecom circles.

According to data for Financial Year 2014, Vodofone India has witnesses over 125 percent increase in data traffic. By FY’14 the company had recorded 52 million mobile internet customers in India, out of which 7 million users are 3G subscribers.