With the aim of keeping competition at bay in the hypercompetitive Indian telecom space, operators have, over the past three months, introduced a slew of novel schemes in the market. These offerings include bundled services, full talktime vouchers, reduced long distance tariffs and various applications. For instance, Vodafone India has launched the WorldSpace Radio service across 18 circles, which enables customers to access a wide library of music tracks on their mobile handsets for Rs 30 per month.

The need to innovate, according to industry analysts, stems from the operators’ need to stand apart from the clutter, and differentiate their products and services from those of their competitors. Therefore, operators have ensured that the market is chock-a-block with exciting options for users.

tele.net takes a look at the various offers available in the market today...

Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel has introduced the 1-Day Bridge DataRoam Unlimited international data plan for post-paid customers. The offer enables users to avail of unlimited data roaming while travelling within the Asia-Pacific region, for Rs 500 per day. Bridge DataRoam Unlimited is a daily flat-rate plan that offers unparalleled value and flexibility for customers roaming across the 11 Bridge Alliance member operator networks in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

The operator has also, through its wholly owned subsidiary Airtel M Commerce Services Limited, launched the Airtel Money service. Available across 300 cities at present, Airtel Money enables users to pay their utility bills and recharge their accounts through their mobile devices. The service also permits users to transfer money from an Airtel Money wallet to another or to bank accounts.

Further, the operator has launched a BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) plan for its post-paid customers using BlackBerry smartphones. Customers can avail of unlimited use of the BBM service as well as 300 free local and national SMSs for Rs 129 per month.

 Vodafone India

Vodafone India has increased the talktime available on certain vouchers, from 9 per cent to 22 per cent, for its users in Tamil Nadu. The offer is valid on vouchers priced at Rs 10, Rs 20, Rs 30, Rs 50 and Rs 100. For example, the voucher priced at Rs 20 now entails talktime of Rs 15.80.

 The company has also launched two bonus cards, priced at Rs 14 and Rs 42, for its prepaid customers in Kolkata. The bonus card priced at Rs 14 is valid for one day and provides 30 MB of mobile data usage as well as 25 minutes of free talktime to any local network. The bonus card priced at Rs 42 offers users 150 MB of data usage on their handsets, apart from 80 minutes of free talktime for local calls within Vodafone’s network. The voucher is valid for seven days.

TTSL

Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL) has launched Smart Life 3G plans for its prepaid customers in Kerala. The plans are priced at Rs 146, Rs 199 and Rs 246, and offer free talktime worth Rs 50, Rs 100 and Rs 150 respectively. In addition, the Rs 146 plan entails free 3G data usage of up to 300 MB, while the other two plans provide up to 400 MB and 600 MB of free 3G data usage respectively. Besides, customers can avail of 20 per cent extra data on these plans by recharging online from the company’s website.

TTSL’s Age-on-Network offer enables its prepaid customers in Odisha to avail of more than full talktime based on their period of usage. This offer is applicable on a minimum recharge of Rs 40 and above.

 The operator has also introduced the Grab-a-Song search service. The service offers customers access to a music library, from which they can choose any song as their Call Me tune. To activate the service, customers are required to dial 57878 and hold the handset near the source of the music track. Thereafter, TATA DOCOMO’s back-end voice recognition software will match the song’s availability in the operators’ Call Me tune database and identify it. The subscriber will then receive an SMS confirming activation of the service and the song’s details.

TTSL’s bundled offer for CDMA customers in Mumbai enables users to avail of 500 minutes of free local calling on the purchase of the Huawei C2835 colour FM handset, which is priced at Rs 1,099. Free calling value will be credited to the user’s account as 15,000 seconds per month for two months from the date of purchase. Validity for the free seconds offered will be 30 days from the day of credit.

RCOM

Reliance Communications (RCOM) has unveiled its CDMA Tab device. The CDMA Tab runs on the Android 2.3 platform and features a 7 inch multitouch screen, up to 32 GB of expandable memory, dual cameras, and support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. The tablet also comes with RCOM’s Live TV facility and a host of preloaded applications including YouTube, Google Maps, Google Search, R World online, Gmail, Facebook and Twitter.

RCOM has also introduced the My Best Plan offer for its post-paid Netconnect+ users. The plan enables customers to pay only for the amount of data used, and their current plan automatically adjusts to their usage pattern and charges the lowest bill amount. Users will be charged Rs 350 for data usage up to 1,000 MB and Rs 650 for data usage up to 6,000 MB. Data downloaded beyond this limit will cost the subscriber Re 0.06 per MB.

Idea Cellular

Idea Cellular has launched the Talktime Loan offer for its prepaid subscribers in Tamil Nadu. As per the offer, users can “borrow” talktime worth Rs 3 from other Idea subscribers. This offer is valid for customers who have a balance of less than Re 0.01 and have been on Idea Cellular’s network for more than 90 days.

The service provider has also tied up with Opera Software for offering a customised Opera Mini mobile web browser to its subscribers.

BSNL

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has joined hands with Itz Cash Card Limited to launch the TRUST Card. The TRUST Card is a semi-closed prepaid card that permits users to pay their mobile and utility bills, purchase top-ups and avail of various value-added service packs. The TRUST Card is available in Chandigarh, Kolkata, Pune and Chennai in denominations of Rs 250, Rs 500 and Rs 1,000. It can be used either as a one-time recharge or can be topped up through refill vouchers.

The operator has also introduced the Haryana Special F&F Prepaid Plan. The plan is priced at Rs 54 – Rs 20 for the SIM card and Rs 34 for the first recharge coupon. Post-purchase, users can avail of free talktime worth Rs 25 and the plan is valid in proportion to the recharge or top-up voucher used. As per the plan, all calls within BSNL’s network are priced at Re 0.01 per minute and calls to other networks are priced at Re 0.012 per minute. In addition, users can avail of 200 free local text messages per month. Thereafter, users would be charged Re 0.50 per message for local SMSs, Re 0.60 per message for national SMSs and Rs 5 per message for international SMSs. Also, users can choose to make calls to five local mobile numbers within BSNL’s network to make calls to for Re 0.20 per minute or five local numbers of any other network for Re 0.40 per minute. BSNL’s Bharat Berry services, launched in Pune, provide push mail and personal information manager (PIM) sync services to customers. This service works with corporate mail accounts as well as others and the inbox is fully synchronised with the Bharat Berry server. A BSNL customer can avail of this service using any handset. The PIM sync enables users to back up their contacts, calender, notes, tasks, etc., which can be synchronised with the Bharat Berry server for viewing and updation on users’ computers. The information can also be transferred to a new handset. Users can access all services, including emails and PIM sync, for Rs 80 per month, while individual services are priced at Rs 50 each per month. To subscribe to the Bharat Berry service, existing subscribers are required to SMS SUB BB to 51123.

MTNL

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has introduced three service packs for users in Delhi. Priced at Rs 15, the weekly SMS pack offers 400 free local and 200 free national SMSs. The pack is valid for seven days. The weekly STD pack offers 150 free STD minutes. This pack is valid for seven days and is priced at Rs 55. The half-yearly 3G data pack is priced at Rs 4,999 and offers users 100 GB of free 3G data usage. It is valid for six months.

MTNL has also launched BlackBerry services for its prepaid customers. Customers can subscribe to the BlackBerry BIS Lite Trial plan, which provides unlimited access to emails and BBM service for 30 days for Rs 251. The BIS Lite Trial plan is priced at Rs 150 and is available for 15 days. To activate the BIS Lite 251 plan, users can SMS ACT BB 251 to 444. For the BIS Lite Trial 150 plan, users would have to SMS ACT BB 150 to 444. Overall, the accelerated growth of the Indian telecom market is providing huge opportunities for operators to innovate and churn out first-of-their-kind products and services.