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Mobile phone war hots up in Mumbai
Thursday, 07 August 2003, 19:30 IST
MUMBAI: Mumbai's mobile phone users are poised to reap yet another windfall by way of falling tariffs, with a seventh player entering the market.
The Tatas have launched their mobile phone service at the lowest prices ever and initial reports indicate an encouraging response from phone users, sources say.
Tata Indicom, the mobile phone service promoted by the Tatas, allows consumers to obtain a phone with rentals of just 
295 per month and an additional 199 per month for 24 months for the handset.
In addition, the company is offering free SMS for three months and international long distance calls at 6 per minute to select destinations.
With the Tatas lowering the entry barrier for more market share, other players are also planning to throw in more goodies to consumers.
Reliance, which like the Tatas offers limited roaming CDMA technology, will launch a pre-paid service in the next few days, according to the trade circles.
Traditionally, mobile phone companies have been using the pre-paid service as an entry point for new consumers. Pre-paid cards enable phone users to limit their telephone usage according to their budgets.
Meanwhile, GSM mobile operators, who offer full mobility, are launching their own schemes to stay afloat in the market.
Airtel, promoted by Bharati, has introduced a post-paid plan which it claims works out to zero rentals for the phone user. The other players in the GSM area, BPL and Orange, are expected to come up with similar offers.
The state-owned MTNL has separate services in both GSM and CDMA.
Pricing in the mobile phone market fell sharply in July when Reliance launched its Monsoon Hungama offer. Under it, phone users needed to pay just 501 to get connected. The scheme helped the company garner 2.5 million phone users across the country, according to the company.
Reliance is expected to sell another two million connections by September end, making it the biggest phone operator in the country, according to analysts here.
Source: IANS
295 per month and an additional 199 per month for 24 months for the handset.
In addition, the company is offering free SMS for three months and international long distance calls at 6 per minute to select destinations.
With the Tatas lowering the entry barrier for more market share, other players are also planning to throw in more goodies to consumers.
Reliance, which like the Tatas offers limited roaming CDMA technology, will launch a pre-paid service in the next few days, according to the trade circles.
Traditionally, mobile phone companies have been using the pre-paid service as an entry point for new consumers. Pre-paid cards enable phone users to limit their telephone usage according to their budgets.
Meanwhile, GSM mobile operators, who offer full mobility, are launching their own schemes to stay afloat in the market.
Airtel, promoted by Bharati, has introduced a post-paid plan which it claims works out to zero rentals for the phone user. The other players in the GSM area, BPL and Orange, are expected to come up with similar offers.
The state-owned MTNL has separate services in both GSM and CDMA.
Pricing in the mobile phone market fell sharply in July when Reliance launched its Monsoon Hungama offer. Under it, phone users needed to pay just 501 to get connected. The scheme helped the company garner 2.5 million phone users across the country, according to the company.
Reliance is expected to sell another two million connections by September end, making it the biggest phone operator in the country, according to analysts here.
Source: IANS