Tata DOCOMO recently launched 5 new ‘GPRS on Demand’ Packs. At first glance it was still unfortunate that Tata DOCOMO had yet not launched an Unlimited GPRS much like that of Aircel.
However on careful analysis one can say that Tata DOCOMO has hit all the right notes with these GPRS packs which may ultimately prove to be more beneficial and equally economical for the customers. As per our analysis the following are the facts:
1.Tata DOCOMO Rs. 5 GPRS Pack: This pack is the first of its kind in the industry, available on demand and seems to be catered for those who are not frequent GPRS users. So if you want to surf the net, suddenly need to check your mail or just chat for a short period of time, this Daily GPRS all you need to do is just send an SMS and it is activated.
On Aircel however, a user has no option but to buy a Rs. 14 GPRS pack with a 3 day validity. Although this pack may have Unlimited data Usage, it is practically inconsequential and useless for a user who does not make use of the GPRS facility on a daily basis and also offers very little for a frequent GPRS user due to its mere 3 day validity!
On the other hand Tata DOCOMO’s ‘pay as you use’ concept does wonders as its Rs. 5 pack (which can be activated via an SMS) comes with a 10 MB data limit and if you exceed that limit you only pay 50paisa/MB (1p/20KB)! Which brings us to our next point.
2.Once you consume the MB/GB data limit on each GPRS pack, Tata DOCOMO charges you ONLY 50 paisa/MB. This is by far the lowest pulse rate in the industry today and no other operator thus far has matched these rates.
3.Tata DOCOMO Rs 48 Monthly GPRS pack: In this pack Tata DOCOMO has combined a Day/Night data usage limit. So in the day the data usage limit is 100 MB and the night data usage limit is 2GB. Still the argument remains why would you opt for this pack when Aircel offers an unlimited GPRS pack??
For me the answer is clear:- Aircel offers a Monthly GPRS Unlimited data pack for Rs. 98 while Tata DOCOMO offers it for Rs. 48 (less than half of Aircel)! Yes, Tata DOCOMO’s pack may not be Unlimited however with a day data limit of 100 MB and a night limit of 2GB it is extremely unlikely that an average GPRS user (or an above average one for that matter) will ever exceed this limit. If a user does however exceed it then he only pays 50paisa/MB on any extra browsing within the validity period.
So why pay Rs. 98 for an Unlimited Pack when you can pay less than half that amount for a Tata DOCOMO GPRS Monthly pack and avail of free browsing data which is almost as good as unlimited?!
4.Since Aircel has introduced their Unlimited GPRS packs, they have experienced immense network congestion which has led to extremely slow browsing speeds.
This proves that an unlimited GPRS pack may not be as beneficial or rather as convenient as one may feel. On the other hand for with Tata DOCOMO’s ‘pay as you use’ Monthly GPRS pack, you not only save money but you also get a high quality browsing experience due to lack of congestion.
