Thanks for the post. Some day hopefully the website will produce more accurate results. For the time being I use RS 98 monthly prepaid pack offered by airtel on my nokia N86. I don't know whether I'm getting 3g or 2g connectivity, but I like the speed and bandwidth. for instance, I'm able to comfortably use Skype on my N86 with virtually no latency during the call. when I'm connected to the internet on my phone, the status indicator reads as "HSDPA connected, network 7 bars, airtel, battery 7 bars".
On 6/6/11, Renuka Warriar <[email protected]> wrote: > Date:06/06/2011 URL: > http://www.thehindu.com/2011/06/06/stories/2011060662691800.htm > > Back > Front Page > > Guiding you to the right 3G plan > > Ajai > Sreevatsan > 3gsimplified is meant to ensure that user get the most > cost-effective plan > > > > > > > > CHENNAI: Are you on the right mobile telephony plan? What is the best 3G > data plan, of a particular usage pattern that is available in your telecom > circle? > > Questions such as these are often complicated to answer. Even if a mobile > phone user subjectively decides to go in for a particular operator, the > sheer > number of plans, rate-cutters and top-ups leaves them confused. The tariff > pricing is also complex - a simple phone call can be charged at six > different > rates based on who you call and when you call. > > Enter http://www.3gsimplified.com/ promising to be your shopping assistant > in the telecom supermarket. The objective of 3gsimplified, which will also > be > available as a free Android application shortly, is to make sure a user can > make the right decision and get the most cost-effective plan. Its search > engine > cuts through each plan and adds the right top-ups and rate cutters to arrive > at the cheapest possible plan for a particular usage pattern. > > Jigar Doshi, founder of Cheeni Labs, which designed 3gsimplified, says: > "Each result that the website throws up is completely customised to the > usage." > > While intense competition has kept voice call rates in India among the > lowest in the world, the scenario of a divergent set of plans, each > targeting a niche > segment, has ended up confusing customers. > > The site also offers a detailed analysis of 3G data plans in a number of > metros. For example, BSNL seems the most cost-effective 3G service provider > in > Chennai across data usage bands, while Airtel comes on top in Mumbai. While > the comparison is based on 3G data usage, cost-effectiveness is derived > through > the overall monthly bill, by using TRAI's definition of an 'average Indian > subscriber' (611 minutes of voice calls and 97 SMS). > > Here is Chennai's comparison graph: http://www.3gsimplified.com/ > staticms/Chennai_analysis. html > > So, how much can you really save? With mobile number portability and the > ability to easily shift among operators, Mr. Doshi says "at least Rs.100 > every > month for a post paid user." He says an extreme example is his own dad, > whose monthly bill dropped from Rs.2, 000 to Rs.1, 000. "I would term him a > pathologically > bad case," he says with a laugh. "He has been in the same plan for the past > two years. I showed him that one can achieve 50 per cent savings in just > five > minutes. Just change your plan." > > He tempers that advice with a corollary: "Most of the operators are highly > competitive, which means it is better to get the right plan within the > operator > than to switch operators." But an amazing mobile telephony experience is not > just about cost. There are other aspects such as customer service and signal > coverage, especially on the 3G network. In essence, customers do not want to > know just what is the cheapest, but what is the best. Mr. Doshi advocates > crowd-sourced services such as http://opensignalmaps.com, but maintains that > the space requires more attention from Open Source developers. > Search for old postings at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > -- -.-.-.-Faint heart never won fair lady_._._._._ Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
