Before a storm, nature becomes too calm. In the midst of dull days at telecom we are expecting the tornado called 4G. The first 4G flight had taken off by Airtel but it is not a great journey so far. RIL Infotel is working on 4G to bring it in next 2-3 months and Tikona is scheduled for mid 2013. And there are media reports that say Aircel, which owns 4G spectrum in 8 circles is working on its 4G plans to roll out services in coming days. Aircel is currently in the process of finalizing device strategy, rolling out fiber optic and setting up 4G-LTE BTS in towers.
In next 6 months
It is highly anticipated that Aircel will roll out 4G services in 8 circles in not less than 6 months. Aircel, already cash-stripped with high priced 3G auction bought 4G spectrum in 8 circles. To encounter cash crisis Aircel is currently re-structures its business strategy in low-profit circles and scaling down operations in some circles. It is expected that to bring 4G with several trials and pilots, cable laying, finalizing device and service strategy Aircel will take a minimum 6 months, which may be stretched for another 3 months. But it will be great if Aircel starts 4G in 6 months in any city to showcase its 4G potentiality. It is highly anticipated that Infotel may roll out services in this financial year, before March 2013. Aircel may learn from Infotel’s strategy to bring world class services on LTE-TDD platform. Aircel may start its 4G journey from Chennai, the base of the company.
Learning mistakes from Airtel 4G
Airtel rolled out 4G-LTE in April 2012, but still response is pretty poor – less than 5,000 subscribers in Kolkata, Bangaluru and Pune. Airtel 4G has issues speed (only level 1 BTS in most places), coverage and tariffs. Aircel must look at these and try to bring better services on LTE.
Subscriber-attractive Data plans like Aircel’s Pocket Internet Packs
On mobile internet space, Aircel is a kind of pioneer to bring unlimited internet packs on 2G (Pocket Internet). On 3G Aircel offers all unlimited plans – certain usage on 3G and then unlimited on 2G. We expect Aircel’s 4G data plans will be similarly attractive to consumers.
Advantages as No Wired Broadband
4G-LTE can be a alternative to wired broadband, at least in India, which I told earlier. Unlike Airtel which has wired broadband services in selected cities Aircel does not offer wired broadband. This means Aircel 4G can be offered with better prices to compete with wired broadband services.
8 Circles include category C circles
Aircel has 20MHz of spectrum on 2300 MHz in 8 circles – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu (including Chennai), West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam, North-East, Jammu & Kashmir. Out of these 8 circles most of them are category C circles – that means Aircel has to offer 4G at a cheaper price to penetrate the market at tier II and tier III cities.. Also Aircel won the spectrum at these circles at a very low price compared to metro circles or 3G spectrum I don’t think that’s not a big problem for Aircel.
3G vs 4G
I think it’s a tricky question for Aircel as all of these eight 4G circles are overlapping with 3G spectrum also. So definitely cheaper 4G means people will be less attracted to 3G data. But at this initial stage of LTE-TDD voice options are limited, handsets are also limited – so LTE services may be limited to dongles and WiFi devices, so may not hamper phone users. Also 4G is for heavy data users, while casual users are good for 3G data.
Voice option
It is not sure Aircel LTE services will have a voice counterpart or not, but if others launching it, Aircel has to do it. As per reports Airtel is to conduct fall back mechanism for voice over LTE, while Reliance is trying voice over LTE using Russia’s SPIRIT DSP’s VVoIP engine.
WiFi Offload
Aircel is already offering WiFi services with Spectranet where billing are done from Aircel mobile. With 4G-LTE Aircel can launch its own WiFi Hotspots. It will help them to reduce network load on 3G and 4G and can offer cheaper data to consumers.Apart from simple data/internet services Aircel is also targeting home consumers by offering broadcasting, video on demand, education and health care services over LTE-TDD network.
Separate sub-brand for 4G
It is my personal opinion, simple Aircel 4G/LTE is not a good choice to promote LTE. Aircel Ultra 4G or similar sub-brand focusing young generation can be a good option.
sk January 8, 2013 at 3:52 pm
what about mp-cg circle?
koi ye batayega ki network aa raha hai ya nahi aircel mein?
Esmail January 7, 2013 at 5:05 pm
@Tharun George,
I can understand why you are getting confused reading the finer print in the data terms and conditions on t-mobile site, the terms and conditions have not been amended to reflect the new ‘Unlimited nationwide 4G data’ which has been launched on 5th sept 2012 as a 20$ addon for Value packs and 30$ addon for classic packs. This addon has made t-mobile the only nationwide operator providing true unlimited 4G data without any data caps whatsoever in bold letters, no 5GB throttling.. and this has been creating waves in USA ever since, and neither AT&T nor Verizon has been able to match up with this, and thousands of people have gotten their AT&T out of contract phones unlocked and have shifted to t-mobile for this very plan, you can check the details on the site, or google it for your convenience. T-mobile goes upto the extent of saying that you can stream ten full length movies of 2GB each every single day of the month on your mobile and not worry about overages. since its a new plan it might have not been added to the T&C finer print yet. its all there on the site, u’ll find the link on the main page, check it and reply I’ll be waiting
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 6:26 pm
Yes you are right. Thanks for the information.
So finally US will have both Wireless and Wire-line Broadband at affordable price and High Speed.
This is what India is looking for. We know our wireline broadband can’t never match with other countries. But 4G from RIL Infotel and others are promising. I hope Indian 4G players launch similar plan in India.
Esmail January 7, 2013 at 7:08 pm
Yes I hope the same.. Though I’m looking to migrate to USA later this year, and t-mobile is the operator I plan to subscribe to.. But till I’m here I’m pinning my hopes on Mr. Mukesh Ambani to bring the broadband revolution to India with affordable 4G. currently the closest I have been able to reach to an unlimited 3G option for my home is by using a Delhi circle MTNL sim in Mumbai in a 3G wifi router using Rs.4500 plan which gives me 200GB 3G data with 180 days validity, since MTNL offers free data roaming pan india this works out to be the best (read cost effective) alternative for wired broadband in india in the present day. Comes up to Rs.750 for 33GB per month and reaches speeds of 2.3 Mbps for downloads on most times of the day, checked and tested on speedtest site.
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 8:49 pm
I suggest you try Reliance Broadband if available in your area.
Thunder 549 1Mbps unlimited at Rs 549
Thunder 699 1Mbps unlimited at Rs 699
Thunder 899 4 Mbps upto 20 GB, thereafter 1Mbps at Rs 899
Thunder 1099 4Mbps unlimited at Rs 1099
Freedom 999 12 Mbps upto 25 GB, thereafter 1Mbps at Rs 999.
Hope Mr. Mukesh will bring better plans than his brother.
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 8:52 pm
If you are migrating to US, you can get High Speed Broadband Plans of 20Mbps and unto 100Mbps at affordable rates. Cable broadband in US are very high speed.
If you happen to be at Kanas City, you can get Google Fibre which gives 1Gb/s for just $70 a month.
Esmail January 7, 2013 at 10:09 pm
In USA the broadband plan that I am eying is Verizon FIOS which is fibre optic based and I intend to subscribe to double play pack which gives good bundle for broadband plus digital cable tv, won’t be needing triple play since mobile is sufficient won’t need landline, they have good plans with 50Mbps speed.
As for reliance wired broadband I have been trying for the freedom 999 plan which gives 25 GB a month at 999 plus taxes at 12Mbps (maximum contention ratio 1:4) but they keep telling me my area is not in their coverage. And even better than that I have been pushing my luck to get MTNL FTTH fibre data plan 1200 which gives download speeds of 20Mbps and upload speed of 10Mbps with 45GB monthly usage for Rs.1200. But then again they also say my area is out of coverage. If wireline was a viable option I would never have had to resort to wireless broadband, but it’s a sorry state for wired broadband in our nation.
aashu January 11, 2013 at 8:16 pm
Hey experts plz can U tell me how much will best a WiFi coverage of reliance infotel in WiFi can they provide services within 1to 2 kilometres plz help
Saurabh January 7, 2013 at 4:04 pm
But bro, if everyone (this 90 percent people) starts moving to cheaper options like Uninor or Videocon which are now circle specific operators, they won’t get service quality. For example- In Haryana, Videocon is the only operator to retain license and has 5MHz of spectrum only. They’ve kept their plans intact here and as they choose for deferred payment option so have to pay nothing for next 6 years. So they’re the only one to provide unlimited Internet at 96. People have already started moving to it which can be confirmed for Nov, 2012 Subscribers base report by COAI which shown Videocon adding 25,444 customers in Haryana. December figures which will be released by Jan 15th, I’m expecting an addition of over 75k and it will keep on growing if they continue to provide cheaper voice and data services. But with subscribers growing, their service quality will decline just like Tata Docomo who added users because of cheaper services and then service quality become worst in few month. So users will not get value for money they pay either it be 96 or 150 or 200. So it will be better for them to keep revising plans otherwise it will be better to pay 150 for 2GB with over 200Kbps speed on older operator than to pay 96 for unlimited and 50-100kbps speed to Videocon or Uninor.
You’re right that 3G tariffs will further decline but if people start getting 3G at cheaper rates than why will people use Videocon or Uninor? Even though new operators have license for 6 or 7 circles yet it will be difficult for them to survive against those with 3G and 4G license. They can lure voice customers but data customers will stay with them only if they provide good speed and without spectrum addition it would be difficult.
As far as generous pricing by Uninor which is now Telewings Comm. you might have forget the amount they paid for 6 circles and also looking to retain Mumbai in next auction which is part 2. So only for spectrum their bill would be around 7,100 crores for 7 circles. Beside this they’ve to tie-up for Inter circle roaming in 15 circles. They provided cheaper services when they got Pan-India license for 1,658 crores. They lost major part of their investment in Unitech also. So I don’t know how they will manage to provide cheaper services from now on. Though prices will be competitive as against incumbents but not cheap. For example- Double data as compared to incumbents in packs and voice rate cutters at 20-30 percent less rates.
Saurabh January 7, 2013 at 1:18 pm
@S. Sudhakar,
Calm down, bro. We can understand that you’re having problem in your area but trust me it is only area specific and not all over country. So stop calling India a technologically slum country. Even after price hike by telcos, India is still the cheapest in terms of voice and data tariffs. As far as speed is concerned, operators don’t have enough spectrum to fulfill needs of all customers. We are a big country and a big country also has big scale consumption and big problems too.
You always compare with other countries but those countries have resources available according to their population and we’ve scarcity of resources here like spectrum. Users in those countries are financially sound and they’re ready to spend but here it is not the same and it is difficult to get revenues from consumers.
Don’t forget, Quality Always Comes At a Cost. Even at the time of launch operators clarified that 3G will be a premium service and for premium customers. They never say that we will make it a service for Common Man.
I’m surprised to see that companies lowered 3G tariffs to such a levels which was never expected. Yet people shouting at them. As far as quality is concerned, you may be not getting speed because of heavy users in your circle. Here in my town in Haryana, I’m getting good speed.
I’m using a 28.8Mbps modem and with Airtel which is using Idea’s network, I get 6.8-7.2Mbps speed which is nearly 100% as Airtel provides speed upto 7.2Mbps in all their 3G plans. While downloading I hardly see speed going below 870 Kilo Bytes Per Sec Mark in IDM, no matter what time it is. But for that Idea should be praised whose network Airtel is using here. On my Idea SIM, I get minimum 1.5MBps i.e 12Mbps and sometimes it goes even to 16Mbps. But on consistent basis it is 12-14Mbps. On 3 Jan, I activated Rs.7 pack on Idea which now provides 20 mins and downloaded 1.67GB data which is 1710.08MB in 1200 seconds. Average Speed- 11.36 Mbps.
Mr. Sudhakar, from your replies we always get a feeling that someone is sitting in five star hotel and asking them to charge at local Dhaba rates or someone sitting in Dhaba, paying less and asking for five star facilities. You people ask for quality and that too for cheap price.
If price is not a concern for you then pay to get quality. I also read your replies showing disappointment over Videocon’s exit from Tamil Nadu. You wanted it to stay there because it was cheap which shows you aren’t willing to spend but willing to use telecom services. Stop just thinking about yourself only. It sounds too selfish. If you go through the situation telecom sector is in, you will never ask for cheap service.
Asking for cheap 3G/4G is like asking bn airline company to charge at railway fares which is not possible at all. As per me, the current 2G, 3G tariffs are also cheap and 4G has only one operator and Airtel’s tariffs are also too low compared with what others are charging around the world.
Can anyone doing business sell a product lower than or equal to what it costs them? Never. Telecom operators aren’t here to do charity for COMMON MAN. They’ve all the rights to price their products at a level which help them recover cost they inject for getting spectrum and installing and maintaining infrastructure.
As far as EDGE speed is concerned, it is again a problem in your area. I’m getting over 220Kbps with Idea, Tata, Vodafone, Reliance. Aircel is gone from Haryana and Videocon is also providing over 240Kbps where signal strength is good but in my area it is too weak. Airtel and BSNL are between 100-150Kbps.
Service quality was always on decline since tariff war came in. As tariff became affordable, rare users turned frequent users and new users also stepped in. The resource i.e spectrum remained the same but the demand went up aggressively due to low pricing resulting in poor quality of service. If telcos don’t hike service charges they won’t be able to get enough money to upgrade infrastructure and to pay for spectrum and in the end users will be left with poor quality of services.
There are more things which needs to be clarified to Mr. Sudhakar but enough for now.
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 1:29 pm
+1
Esmail January 7, 2013 at 2:15 pm
The operators may have launched the 3G services as premium services, but as the market is dominated by terms dictated by the common user which comprise 90% of the subscriber base of the telecom companies, they have been forced to lower their 3G data tariffs to gain market penetration and have any chance whatsoever of recovering their spectrum fees, and in the next 6 months the tariffs will see an even steeper decline after the launch of reliance infotel 4G. The only saving grace of Indian telecom sector is the high competition between the operators, and that again the biggies like airtel Vodafone and idea are trying to manuvere in their favour by forming a cartel.
I would suggest people who wish to use good quality 2G data at affordable tariffs, go for operators like uninor who are providing 6GB 2G data a month for Rs.90. Since they have not payed 3G spectrum fees they can still afford to be generous.
S.Sudhakar January 7, 2013 at 4:13 pm
One doubt. If operators cannot offer more than 90% speed, then why are they cheating in the name of 3G?. Most of the providers do not provide speed near the data packs.
Please read my point again :
If the operators can only provide below 90% coverage, then they must specify like this in the website :
‘The speed 3.6 Mbps, 7.2 Mbps and 21 Mbps is the maximum speed and you (the subscribers) will get less than 90% speed always’.
Are they dare enough to specify the above line CLEARLY IN BIG FONTS in their 3G plans and packs page?. Tell me.
Adil January 7, 2013 at 12:12 pm
Hey guys I have read all the conversion and wanted to know from where do you hey international operator plans and pack???
As I’m unable to find it?
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 1:32 pm
Google T-mobile, Verizon, AT&T.
Venkat January 7, 2013 at 12:08 pm
AIRCEL may pack up in m.p, c.g, kerala,gujarat and u.p. i read it in some news paper. So users in these circles can port out to other networks for better coverage.
Arjun Chandrashekar January 8, 2013 at 10:27 am
Local Newspapers and Media Say Anything To Fill Their Bucks and Please Don’t Listen to Them….
Amit Deb Biswas January 7, 2013 at 11:02 am
sudharkar boka2dami kom kor……
avisek January 6, 2013 at 11:05 pm
every user should use bsnl.NO HIDDEN COST, NO MONEY DEDUCTION WITHOUT CUSTOMER PERMISSION,VERY GOOD RESPONDS FROM CUSTOMER CARE WITH IN 36 HOUR AFTER COMPLAIN LOGGED,TARIFF MAY LITTLE BIT HIGHER THAN PRIVATE OPERATORS.IN SOME STATES SIM MAY NOT BE AVAILABLE IN LOCAL RETAILER…IN THAT CASE YOU HAVE TO GO LOCAL ANY TELEPHONE OFFICE OF BSNL TO COLLECT SIM.
S.Sudhakar January 6, 2013 at 10:51 pm
T-mobile USA offers unlimited 4G plan (with FUP) :
Shame on Indian telecom.
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 8:05 am
T-Mobile provide 2GB with FUP for $40 (Rs 2140).
Airtel provide 6GB with FUP for Rs 999.
Why do you feel shame on India?
Venkat January 7, 2013 at 9:36 am
@Tharun george. well said sir…!!! I am advising sudhakar to go to U.S if he want to use unlimited or cheap 4g (according to him). Dear sudhakar. dont blame india. please consider context before comparing. indian telcos are providing affordable tariff though they are in crisis.
S.Sudhakar January 7, 2013 at 10:24 am
The service is not upto the mark. Almost in all operators in Tamilnadu, I am not even getting 80%of the speed (be it 3.6 Mbps, 7.2 Mbps or even 21 Mbps).
I get only 2.4 Mbps in Airtel 3G having connected at 21 Mbps (showing in the dial up icon).
It is only in this ‘TECHNOLOGICALLY SLUM INDIA’ where only technology is getting upgraded without even reaching a common man and without even allowing a common man to use at affordable tariff’. Shame on Indian telecom. Full of scams and corruption (I agree that corruption is everywhere but in India it is more). What do you say for this?.
S.Sudhakar January 7, 2013 at 10:31 am
Not even a single operator in India provides 2G EDGE maximum speed of 236 Kbps all the time (before FUP if any).
3G speed is only 4 times than 2G EDGE operator who provides at 160 Kbps speed !!!!.
TECHNOLOGICALLY SLUM INDIA.
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 11:38 am
2G network is congested all over India. When network is busy, 2G give priority to voice than data and thus slow down all data traffic.
In order to solve this companies like Vodafone and Airtel need more spectrum. Thats why they are bought most of the cancelled spectrum.
Check speed of Docomo and Reliance. Many including me get over 225kbps at non-congest network locations.
S.Sudhakar January 7, 2013 at 10:27 am
In U.S it may be costly. But they may get more than 90% speed in 3G. Can you say strongly that even a single 3G operator in India provides more than 90% speed in 3G?.
Then what qualities do you have to comment on my response?.
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 11:33 am
I get good speed on 3G. For Idea I get 5mbps to 7.2mbps (My device max speed). For BSNL its same like their broadband just above 1Mbps since most BSNL BST are 3.6mbps.
Also 100% speed are not achievable. Because this 21 mbps is shared with all users. If no one is using and network is free you may get 100%. If they say 7.2mbps we can only expect near 3 Mbps which is a fair speed in my opinion. Also 3G technology has many downfall and speed loss is one of it. Thats why better technology like 4G are invented for pure data traffic.
Why would someone need 21Mbps speed to use 1GB?
S.Sudhakar January 7, 2013 at 12:44 pm
If they cannot provide more than 90% bandwidth, then why are they charging for 3.6 Mbps, 7.2 Mbps?. Some of the Aircel 3G packs in Tamilnadu provide 3.6 Mbps and 7.2 Mbps respectively.
If it is shared, you must not say. The operators should say that it is shared. But it will be foolish. 3G means 3.6 Mbps, 7.2 Mbps or 21 Mbps on a single device and it is not shared bandwidth. You are talking as if 3G is a shared bandwidth?. I am not saying that 3G is 1:1 connection. But users must get promised speed.
You will even say the same thing (shared bandwidth for 4G also) you are not accepting the fact of providing over 90% bandwidth even in strong coverage areas. Wired broadband always gives above 95% bandwidth. Then why can’t 3G even at 100% coverage areas?. Tell me.
S.Sudhakar January 7, 2013 at 12:52 pm
All customers want open terms and conditions.
If the operators can only provide below 90% coverage, then they must specify like this in the website :
‘The speed 3.6 Mbps, 7.2 Mbps and 21 Mbps is the maximum speed and you (the subscribers) will get less than 90% speed always’.
Are they dare enough to specify the above line CLEARLY IN BIG FONTS in their 3G plans and packs page?. Tell me.
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 2:32 pm
No operator has said you will get 21Mbps or 7.2Mbps. They say up to 7.2Mbps. Up to doesn’t tells a minimum speed.
When I check 3G tariff of Aircel at their website they say “*The performance and speed of data browsing is dependent on network usage patterns.”
This is just below the tariff table in normal font like all other information in the site.
Even BSNL Broadband Says 256kbps and upto 2Mb/s wherever technically feasible. I had got only 1.5mb/s on BSNL BB.
Broadband is a different technology and we connect to node using cables which has more than enough bandwidth.
Did you know why the whole internet rely on under sea optical cables when their are many satellite and wireless technology? Its because wireless technology has many limitation and bandwidth is the main problem. Now a days telecom towers are connected through optical fibre cable instead of wireless microwaves due to this bandwidth limitation.
US and other countries also face the same problem. Try google “3G speed US” and see speedtest of 3G networks in US. Average is less than 2.5Mb/s for most operators and only Verizon has good speed of 3.7Mb/s average in the whole US.
Technology like 4G are very promising like this article says. Because it can carry a huge amount of data wireless. Compared to 3G, 4G carries up to 100Mb/s and in future up to 1GB/s. Thus we expect affordable internet at good speed from Aircel, Reliance and other 4G players.
Rudradeep Biswas January 7, 2013 at 8:54 pm
Dear Subhakar
You are messed up all thing. No 5G till date. 4G – specially LTE-Advanced is the future of wireless tech. And what I guess on 4G there will be no 1GB or 2GB or in xyz MB pack – 4G will come with more data – which translates similar spending but per GB data will be cheaper.
SDee January 7, 2013 at 8:47 pm
@Tharun George – great man u comparing indian economy with U.S.
if 2GB with FUP for $40 (Rs 2140) in U.S market then how its 2K in indian eco. isn’t that shud be 2GB with FUP for INR40 ,which is less ……correct ur figures
or may be u shud move to U.S , btw take a poll n see whether these telcos are making it gud or worse…u’l get the right picture…
in india telcos n minister are just milking money in the name of spectrum and so callled technology… Its really a shame
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 11:32 pm
$1 for 1 liter petrol in US.
Is it Rs 1 for petrol in India? In fact it is $1.5 in India.
Lets come back to telecom. Google gives 1Gb/s broadband in US for $70. Will we get anything like that in India even if we pay Rs 70,000?
Why don’t you compare Indian tariff with Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh or Africa. Does mobile tariff lower than India when they earn much lesser than Indians?
Jagannath January 6, 2013 at 9:57 pm
Redradeep sir, is Aircel really shutting down in Kolkata and west bengal circle?
Rudradeep Biswas January 7, 2013 at 8:46 pm
no Aircel is continuing services across circles, but in certain circles the operations are scaling down.
Arjun Chandrashekar January 8, 2013 at 10:29 am
MR.RDB I’m Also Saying This Thing That Aircel is Not Shutting Down, But Local Newspapers and Media fooling People That Aircel is Shutting Down. What Do you Say About This?
jeet January 6, 2013 at 8:16 pm
aircel shut down his network some area in my cities cc no alert. In new year i am facing prbolem in my town, what is this?
Arjun Chandrashekar January 7, 2013 at 11:29 am
Aircel is Facing Severe Problems Because of The Idiot Docomo Who’s Coverage is Pathetic Than This Organization. Aircel and Other Operators Like AIRTEL, VODAFONE, RELIANCE, IDEA and BSNL are Facing Severe Financial Crisis Such That They Are Activating USSD Services To Prick Balance From The Customers. Because Of That Idiot Raja Now Telecom Industry in Such A Stage That They Need To Rob The Customers in Order To Expand Their Business
S.Sudhakar January 7, 2013 at 12:47 pm
Well said.
To everyone :
Please vote under 49-O in all the future elections to teach a lesson to the corrupt politicians.
docomo January 6, 2013 at 7:54 pm
aircel and reliance are the hope for common man in delhi, rest all are too too costly
Agnivo January 6, 2013 at 7:54 pm
PLEASE CONFIRM: Mobile and recharge shops here in Kolkata are saying that AirCel is about to shut down in March 2013. I wanted to port to AirCel from Uninor… but they discouraged me and said it is about to shut down… What is the real fact?
Arka January 6, 2013 at 8:17 pm
Yes,one of my friend also told me like that.He is from Extended Kolkata(Kolkata circle).He wanted to take a new aircel connection.The all retail shops also told that,idea also going to shut down @March 2013.
Dear TelecomTalk, plz tell us,is it true?there is any chance like that?
CS January 6, 2013 at 8:35 pm
idea also going to shut down @March 2013??
Complete rubbish.
Arjun Chandrashekar January 8, 2013 at 10:32 am
Because Of Reading Local Newspapers only the Retailers Becoming Fools and You People are becoming fools reading Local Newspaper and Media. And As per Times of India/ The Deccan Herald Nowhere has Mentioned That Aircel is Shutting Down.
VENKAT January 6, 2013 at 6:00 pm
Ha…ha…ha. well said. Reliance 4g will f**k these idiotic 3g operators as 4g is cheap.
samiran January 6, 2013 at 5:58 pm
I am going to port due to low network coverage.
James January 6, 2013 at 2:01 pm
Aircel is a dump. No public statements yet about turning off 750 towers in Kerala. Better sell their company to anyone else. I don’t like to use even if they provide 100GB for 100 rupees.
prasad mayya January 6, 2013 at 5:34 pm
aircel switched off their tower since yesterday in karnataka also (kota/udupi)
when i did manual search it shows tata docomo signal
when asked about this they said “we dont have network share with tata docomo in some places…. you can port out no problem”
i have recharged with 67Rs (some 250mb 3g 15days validity ) just 3 days ago
withdrawn sms offer also
now i have to look for other alternate options such as reliance gsm or virgin gsm
karthik January 7, 2013 at 11:05 am
i was in udipi yesterday with Tamilnadu aircel sim card
i got idea signal instead of docomo
Arjun Chandashekar January 7, 2013 at 6:29 pm
Since Idea is Seamless Operator in karnataka Just Like Aircel In Tamilnadu, So That Idea gets Latched To Aircel Tamilnadu Sim
Arjun Chandrashekar January 9, 2013 at 12:37 pm
Since in order to adapt a new Business Model, Aircel is Switching off it’s BTS in some towns of Karnataka, and Once Their Business Is Ready they will turn the BTS on…..
S.Sudhakar January 6, 2013 at 12:39 pm
Anyway 4G will also be out of the reach of the common man and it will jump to 5G. No doubt in this.
Anyway 4G tariff (unlimited with FUP) with 30 days validity will be like this :
Rs.500 – 100 MB data at 4G speed, 101 MB to 300 MB – 7.2 Mbps and above 300 MB – 40 Kbps !!!
Rs.1000 – 250 MBdata at 4G speed, 251 to 500 MB – 7.2 Mbps and above 500 MB – 40 Kbps !!!.
Rs.3000 – 1 GB data at 4G speed, above 1 GB to 2 GB – 7.2 Mbps and above 2 GB – 40 Kbps.
Rs.5000 – 2 GB data at 4G speed and above 2 GB – unlimited data at 3.6 Mbps (contetion ratio may increase).
nash January 6, 2013 at 1:57 pm
whilst u know, 4G is cheaper than 3G.
Arindam January 6, 2013 at 2:45 pm
+1000000
Tharun George January 6, 2013 at 5:22 pm
Airtel 4G already offer 6GB for Rs 999 with Unlimited at 128kbps. Why would you think Aircel give 250MB for Rs 1000?
Think about Aircel 3G which offer 1GB unlimited at Rs 199. Since 4G is better technology than 3G and is used for Data service only they will have better offering like
2GB Unlimited for Rs 199.
S.Sudhakar January 6, 2013 at 6:22 pm
Not only 4G. Each and every technology (except 2G voice) is costly in India.
4G will not be cheap. 4G may predicted to be cheap. If so, it will be cheap for 3 months or for a very short period and 5G will come. Then operators will impose restrictions on using 4G to promote 5G. The same happened in case of 3G. The operators are increasing the 2G data tariff to force 3G into the customers.
‘It is only in this TECHNOLOGICALLY SLUM INDIA where only technology is getting upgraded without even reaching a common man and allowing a common man to use at affordable tariff’. Shame on Indian telecom. Full of scams and corruption (I agree that corruption is everywhere but in India it is more). What do you say for this?.
In Japan and other 3G enabled countries most of the people use 3G and are happily moving to / using 4G and so on. But in India, operators are forcing to use 3G by increasing the 2G data pack tariff.
What do you say for this?.
Tharun George January 6, 2013 at 9:38 pm
Well I am on operators side. First you have think on their side too.
They spend Rs 35,000 cores to get 3G spectrum and almost equal amount setting up 3G network. In order to be affordable they lower tariff below broadband rates. Still even after having a 3G enabled phone all started using 2G only. This is only because 2G is very cheap. So they are forced to hike 2G tariff else their is no point in spending Rs 35000 cores on 3G.
Why don’t all take a look at tariff at US or any other country. Yes their is cheap and very high speed broadband. But all wireless internet including 2G, 3G, 4G cost almost 10 times more than in India. Here is for everyone to compare.
AT&T charges $30 for 3GB.
T-Mobile $25 1.5GB.
Verizon $20 1GB
5G technology is a concept for future. Even 4G is not ready. Theoretically 4G has speed up to 1GB/s. We haven’t reached that limit yet. It will take years to cross that limit and start thinking about 5G.
Esmail January 7, 2013 at 12:43 am
what you are saying is like comparing apples to oranges, you can in no way compare the data prices of USA carriers with those of India because the average monthly income of a citizen in USA if calculated in INR is in the range or 2.5 to 3lac Rs. calculated with the current rate of 1$=54Rs. so if you see an average mobile user in USA spends 85$=4500Rs. a month on mobile bills, which when compared to his income of 2.5lac Rs. is very affordable, and this includes unlimited Talk, Text, and around 5GB of 4G data. Carriers in USA offer truly unlimited Talk and text plans not capped by FUP like Indian carriers, some even provide truly unlimited data on mobile like T-mobile is offering the best plan of 89.99$ a month for truly unlimited Talk, Text and 4G Data without any FUP on new two year contract phones. plus they have free nation wide roaming which India as of today does not.
If the operators had conducted a proper market research here in India and decided among themselves not to bid beyond a particular price point, or not bid at all in circles where the base price for spectrum was too high, they would not have ended up coughing up 35,000 Crore rupees, the government would have been forced to reduce the price of spectrum. They have learnt from their mistakes which reflects in the failure of 1800MHz spectrum where the Empowered group of ministers have decided to reduce the base price of unsold spectrum by 30%
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 10:31 am
You are actually saying in US its cheap since they have high income?
Why don’t you then compare mobile tariff of other asian countries like Pakistan or Bangladesh or sri lanka or African countries whose people one of the lowest incomes in the world.
In India Docomo has Unlimited Local & STD @ Rs.899 and Unlimited Local & STD + 3G @ Rs.1299. Reliance also have similar plans RGUNLIMITED1299.
US operators invented the FUP. If you check the T&C at bottom of t-mobile site you can see “Service may be slowed, suspended, terminated, or restricted for misuse, abnormal use, interference with our network or ability to provide quality service to other users, or significant roaming.”
Esmail January 7, 2013 at 11:35 am
T-mobile unlimited 4G nationwide plan which is offered at 69.99$ a month has true unlimited 4G usage even in nationwide roaming, the T&C apply only to the other FUP based plans. Also the clause of misuse and abnormal use refers to illegally tethering your device to your PC to access net which is not allowed as per the plan rules. Now when you compare this to Docomo and Reliance, I would like to point out that none of these are providing truly unlimited data plans and will throttle speeds on crossing the data cap, also both of these are not pan India 3G operators, Docomo operates in 9 circles and reliance in 13 circles so data roaming is not seamless.
Again paying Rs.1299 a month for a person earning Rs. 25,000 in India is more difficult than a person in USA paying Rs.3800 while having an income of Rs.2.5lac. I’m sure this points out the difference clearly.
Tharun George January 7, 2013 at 2:55 pm
I suggest you read their hidden data terms and conditions at T-Mobile website.
Permissible and Prohibited Uses: Your Data Plan is intended for Web browsing, messaging, and similar activities on your Device and not on any other equipment. Protective Measures: If your total usage exceeds 5GB during a billing cycle, we may reduce your data speed for the remainder of that billing cycle. At times and in areas of network congestion, result in reduced speeds for other services.
So their unlimited is actually 5GB. If you check their Mobile Broadband Tariff instead of Unlimited plans you can understand.
Classic – Overage-Free Plus 2GB $39.99 per month
Classic – Overage-Free Premium 5GB 49.99 per month
Classic – Overage-Free Ultra 10GB 79.99 per month
Week Pass – 300MB 7 Days $15
Month Pass – 1.5GB 30 Days $25
Month Pass – 3.5GB 30 Days $35
Month Pass – 5GB 30 Days $50
This the full tariff of T-Mobile Mobile Broadband Plans and they don’t have true unlimited plans.
Most people in america have Broadband with true unlimited plans at speeds above 20MB/s. So they use broadband for heavy download of movies and other thing. They use internet on mobile for browsing, email, Social Network. But in India 90% use mobile internet for everything and network is full congested.
HRS January 6, 2013 at 8:44 pm
From where do u get these plans???