Online Recharge -That service which can be used while relaxing at our desk and just another privilege added for customers’ benefit. I have chosen three Telecom players namely Airtel, Tata Docomo and Uninor.
From the above three operators Tata Docomo is the first operator to implement a full fledged online Recharge facility. Though Airtel previously offered a similar kind of service it is restricted to very few recharge amounts. Uninor being the latest entrant in the market compared to other players silently launched online recharge facility few months back.
I’ll let you know the reason why I have had selected only these three operators in the last. Now let’s see what these three operators are up to in providing this service. Coming in alphabetical order, I repeat not on the quality of service. Airtel, one of the largest telecom service providers and hence every premium user expects an online recharge facility as a basic service.
Airtel offers a simple 3 step Recharge Process:
1. Enter Recharge Details 2. Reconfirmation 3 Payment
All you need is enter, reenter your mobile Number, Provide an email id for transaction details, select your recharge category, Recharge amount, Payment Mode and finally enter the captcha text and the immediate next page shows your transaction details. Verify if everything is correct and proceed to payment .The page now redirects to different payment gateways depending on payment Mode selected.
Payment options include visa/master - credit/debit cards and Internet Banking.
The recharge page shows the details of all available recharge amounts immediately upon selection of Recharge Category which is a very convenient feature. Though the recharge portal meets most of our requirements it is still bad to notice that Airtel is not providing top up facility in multiples of 10 and the lowest possible top up available is Rs 50.
I know a premium user making an online recharge with amounts less than 50 doesn’t sound good but there are people who are interested to Top up in multiples of 10.What ever it is Airtel is providing most of the stable Recharge amounts via Online Recharge provided you are on a specific Tariff plan as there are no Recharge amounts to change Tariff plans particularly those which change depending on day to day market scenario, may be they want to provide a generalized Recharge platform without the need of updating their site on regular basis.
Tata Docomo Online Recharge Portal Review
Tata Docomo the Telecom market leader in innovation is also providing Online Recharge facility to both GSM and CDMA customers.
All you need to do is just enter your number and you get a selection page to choose your recharge type, Proceeding to the next page you get a number of recharge amounts available, really a large number of recharge amounts available be it Top up or Special Recharge. Enter your email id, select your amount and the payment mode and that’s it you get recharged with one of the safest methods.
One advantage with TATA Docomo is that you can use your present mobile balance as a payment option for any Special Recharges. Really an innovative idea and don’t be afraid what if anyone wants to make some mess here with your number? Tata Docomo has a Mobile SMS verification procedure at this point of recharge which is valid for 30minutes.Various payment options including the visa/master/credit/debit/Internet Banking/Cash cards/Pay through IMPS take it ahead of Airtel.
But what really makes me worried and think of is “Are these Recharge Amounts updated to the latest? as there is quite a large list.” I remember some TT readers complaining about these Recharge amounts are not updated and they ended up with some wrong plans, so if you are sure proceed else please check once before you make a recharge.
Uninor the recent Telecom Player who experienced the fastest subscriber growth rates has also silently launched its online recharge portal about 2 months back. The design of the recharge portal is pretty impressive with minimal looks.
Uninor follows a 4 step simple process where user needs to enter his/her Uninor number ,Select Recharge /Value pack , enter details like email and alternate contact Number, verify details and finally payment and that’s it you get recharged instantly.
With all the Recharge Packs available from Top ups to Special Tariff / Value packs on its Online Recharge portal which are updated to the latest as available along with various payment options Uninor definitely is a winner compared to the other two operators in its Online Recharge Facility.
Before you proceed with any online recharge please make sure you are following certain steps which can be read from my previous article “Things to be taken care of while trying an online Recharge”
*Online Recharge facility is a free service from Respective Mobile Operators.
My suggestion to all operators is “why don’t you make an Interactive voice based recharge system via Mobile using debit/credit payment options where the card Details can be entered at the time of payment as these details can be entered via keypad so that even people who don’t own a sPC/Internet can use the facility with added security ?”
Vodafone IN is already providing Recharge payment options via IVRS with credit Cards which is an awesome feature in fact. Now the reason why I took Airtel- The Leading Operator with highest subscriber base, Tata Docomo –The Telecom Market leader in Innovation and Uninor- The new entrant into Indian Telecom affected by supreme court verdict.
Uninor is a clear winner here according to me. It’s not important when you entered into the play when life changes in seconds according to Tata Docomo, after all the service and performance matters,
Dear readers have you anytime faced any problems with this Online Recharge Portals? How far are you satisfied? let me know and others via comments.
