Last week I subscribed for reliance india mobile by paying 3000 bucks flat and also shelling out 12 cheques of 1800/- each for a period of 3 years.
All this under the second scheme of reliance,under which you take a ''loan'' for 3 years.
The only other alternative is to cough out 21000/- rupees flat at once to accquire a clamshell shaped colour cdma phone.,Of course ,you will have nothing more to pay for another 3 years.
(note: for those of who want to read ONly the updated part,scroll down please!!)
Under the second scheme however,you will have to submit 12 post dated cheques to them,and they will present it at every quarter for another 3 years.
you will get a sleek handset worth 10,500 free under the offer!
however dont expect to get it (instrument) instantly as the issual date of the phones is Feb 15th!!it will be given on FCFS(first come first serve basis).
however,under the scheme you will get 400 minutes of free outgoing time!.
incoming as is widely known,is completly free.
outgoing calls are charged at 10 paise per 15 seconds.
other features include:
1.24 hour internet connection.pay for the duration as per normal outgoin charge
- reliance to reliance STD throughout india at only 10 paise per 15 seconds!!!!(now thats a bomb)
3.NOW LISTEN TO THIS:
video,ring tone downloads,mp3 downloads,SMS ,e-mail,online shopping etc:
be advised:many of these features arent available yet.
4.handset is insured against theft and acc. damage.
5.extra deposit of 2000 for STD calls and 3000 extra for ISD calls.
However these are the points I would like potential subscribers to consider before going reliance.
1)This uses WLL with cdma as against GSM(global systems for mobiles).
now GSM(uses a combo of FdMA and TdMA) has been around 80's and is a throughy tried and tested technology.
its been used in afganistan now instead of land lines(its pretty ease to install and use!)
CDMA(code division multiple access) ,however is relatively new tech. in the field of general mobile comm.,Though it was used in the field of military as early as second world war!
2)reliance offers ''limited mobility'',whatever that means.
check out how the reliance can be used when roaming around the country.
3)Theres no indication as to how reliance will play out with other mobile operators inthe near future.
check out whether you can call from reliance to any other mobile service(airtel,bsnL) or not.
for eg,in bangalore, we cant call from TATA's indicom to any other service.
4)Check out when the service is about to start in your city!
My dealer says that it may be as late as march end!!
so if you are in an urgent mood to go mobile,waiting for the reliance instrument can be painful!!
5) for beginners GSM is fantastic!!!
you can get an Grey market instrument for even 2500 and a pre paid packet for around 300/-.
now this is excellent for students and naive users.
Its also great when you require mobility for a specified period of time only(like when you are outta town with a bunch of friends on a vacation or something).
So essentially you can go mobile for even less than 3000/-
isnt that cool for GSM?
now CDMA is the technology of the future.
there is no mistaking about that fact.....
The handset you will get is fantastic and its GSM counterpart may cost over 20,000!!!!
reliance has laid a ''jaal'' or net around india of high speed fibre optics which will enable streaming video and mp3 downloads....
AND RELIANCE IS THE CHEAPEST SERVICE AVAILABLE UPTO DATE.........
But look under the marketing hype and euphoria and you will find that probably RELIANCE is more useful for the hardcore cell user and not that useful or even practical for the occasional user.....
Update 7/2/2003:
Well, till now I aint got my own instrument and they say ill be having it by feb 27.
So all of us subscribers have to wait a lil longer ,and the start date of issual of these phones,it is said,is Feb 15th.
Unless you are a DAE(dhirubhai ambani entraprenaur),of course,in which case you might already be sporting one of these!
So iam stuck with my GSM airtel's connection and their prices.HEy whaddaya know,airtel in bangalore is,according to me,the best of the GSM cellcos,with best pricing,best features and a really sweet sounding bunch of chicks out attending your problems in customer care!
HEy heres the interesting part:
i have checked out the reliance instrument of my friend(who is a DAE too) and the inital reaction to it was ''WOOOOW''.
It is goddamn amazing,and I felt my nokia mobile was nowhere as classy and sleek as that one!
ANd incoming free and mp3 downloads,video streaming(infact I watched a ashok kumar clip!),news,internet ......my head is spinning....
I wonder how the GSM(meaning airtel,bsnl,spice,orange,etc) guys will counter this one!!! Only way they can survive is to secure thier USP's such as Roaming,intra-zone calls,cheap pool of compatible instruments etc....
FOR IF reliance accquires the unlimited mobility license(the interest for which it has been reportedly showing!),then GSM cellcos are doooomed for certain....
ANd most importantly fair-er pricing!!i mean you gotta be stinking rich or crazy or both to stick with GSM and thier current pricing when reliance is offering such an amazing package...
So you Gsm cellcos better do something good or else many ,like me,may switch to CDMA!!!
and meanwhile,a revolution may have begun and the monopoly of GSM may have ended.long live REliance!!!
