Good for non-movers. Review on Reliance Mobile Operator

I have come to know certain facts which I am adding at the end on revising my review today after three days of having written it.

The hype created by Reliance India Mobile had me curious to find out more. Besides curiosity, I was also worried. I was debating whether I should make a switch from GSM to CDMA. What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks? Is it really worth it? I know that if I change over, I would be stuck for the next three years and if the service is not as good as they promise then I will become the laughing stock of all those who are dissuading me.

My curiosity took me to one of the famed ‘Dhirubhai Ambani Entrepreneurs‘ you can find all over the cities loudly proclaiming that application Reliance India Mobile Application Forms’ are available. I got a brochure and an application form from him and studied it thread bare. Then I logged on to their web site and looked at each angle.

A lot of the data was technical jargon, which was Greek and Latin to me, being a non-technical man, however, I could gather some useful information. A few doubts too crept up which need clarification.

I will not go into the details of the facilities being provided as it has been amply covered in a number of reviews.

My first and major doubt is regarding Inter-circle STD calls (Outside the state) to non-Reliance India Mobile phones. They have mentioned that it will attract incremental ‘off-net operator charges’? The quantum of these charges has not been specified. This will be in addition to

Re 0.40 per min within 400 min

Re 0.40 per min within 50 KM beyond 400 min and

Rs 1.90 per minute above 50 KM and beyond 400 min.

This needs to be studied carefully before taking a decision. This in effect means that you will be paying the above mentioned charges plus additional levy to call any non-Reliance India Mobile phone.

You not only have to go in for a Reliance India Mobile phone but have also got to tell all your friends and relatives to get one to enjoy the benefits of the highly competitive pricing, or else you end up paying more than you would be paying for a call from a landline to a landline.

From the price wars of the mobile and WLL operators, one thing has become clear, charges may go down as the competition hots up, but you benefit maximum only if you and all your friends and relatives stick to one operator. If you don’t, then keep paying such charges as ‘off-net operator charges’ for interconnect. This is going to be impossibility, so in effect the excess charges are bound to be there. These are the hidden costs which they are not specifying. They only specify Re 0.40 per minute, but, that is only the minimum and not the net charges, so beware.

Secondly, they are giving quarterly bills. They however have made provision of giving monthly bills on specific demand. Are they going to charge extra for the monthly bills? Nothing specified here. Monthly bills are better for salaried employees as it helps them in streamlining their budget.

Thirdly, like in most prepaid connections you can not come to know your usage on a continuous basis. You only come to know at the end of the billing period when the bill is presented. Either you have to keep track of each call you make and then restrict usage based on your budgeted expenditure or restrict next quarters usage based on over expenditure of the previous quarter.

Fourthly, PC synchronisation support to synchronise all personal data between your phone and your computer is available in the colour-screen handsets only. This facility you can get only by paying Rs 15,000/- extra.

Fifthly, to be able to make any STD call outside your circle, you will have to make a deposit of Rs 2000/- in addition to the Rs 3000/- you are paying for membership of Reliance Club. Without this facility your phone is just as good as a local PCO.

The biggest drawback and one which is going to deter most of the people from switching to this is that unlike a mobile phone, it is useless once you leave the circle where it is registered. When you are moving frequently, your main requirement is to be in touch with your office or your friends and family. This you can achieve by using a public PCO/STD booth. However, the most crucial thing is for your office, family and friends to be able to contact you while on the move anywhere whether in or outside the circle. This is sadly not possible. This can only be overcome by having both a GSM and a CDMA mobile phone. If Reliance comes up with a dual offer at a highly subsidised rate then it may be interesting. Of course you have to stick on to your landline as well for sustained internet usage. So in effect you land up having three connections – a landline, a GSM and a CDMA mobile. How many of us can afford this?

Overall I would say that is a reasonable offer if you do not move frequently across the length and breadth of the country.

PS. I have come to know through an ad in the news papers today that Reliance India Mobile are offering roaming in 673 cities. What is the mode of roaming and how they are going to go about it is not clear. Can anyone enlighten?