Apr 29, 2009 04:35 PM
16583 Views
(Updated Jan 26, 2010 06:11 PM)
Its been 9 months (April 09 - January 10) since I posted a review on AIRCEL - ANDHRA PRADESH and I felt it necssary to share my experience with you, regarding the AIRCEL :
6 MONTHS ADVANCE RENTAL [Rs 2222] charged 4 times - bills dated 19/04, 19/07, 19/10, 19/12. Amounts charged are Rs 2222, 2222, 1196.46, 1196.46 respectively!
POSTPAID customers who call from non-Aircel numbers are not given access to POSTPAID call centre - even if you select (3) ENGLISH and then (2) POSTPAID and then (9) AGENT TRANSFER you are directed to a PREPAID agent who is totally unwilling to help! So all said and done ... with AIRCEL ANDHRA PRADESH you can pay the highest rental (Rs 2222) but end of the day you receive LESS THAN PREPAID customer treatment !
---------------------- Original review follows -------------------
AIRCEL launched its services in Hyderabad on 12 Mar 2009.As one of their earliest customers using one of the 1st 100 numbers in their '97000' series since almost day one, I am sharing this review with you.
ACTIVATION PROCESS - Took 6 days from the date of document submission, after which there have been no interruptions in service.
VERIFICATION - Though the Address/Credit verification was done on a Saturday, the actual sharing of the audit report between the audit company & AIRCEL happened only on the following Tuesday.
CREDIT LIMIT - CL assigned was a mere Rs 1500 (I have an AIRTEL connection in the same name/address which has a limit from day one of Rs 7300). Guess AIRCEL are being conservative in assigning credit limits to their Postpaid custoimers - however this would restrict the customer's billing (and their Revenue as well!).
NETWORK: COVERAGE - No complaints here, as AIRCEL provides coverage even in areas where AIRTEL or IDEA or VODA is weak. This could be due to the fact thhey are using TATA INDICOM's towers and network infrastructure.
NETWORK: CONNECTIVITY - Occassionally (post 6PM) calls do get conected from AIRCEL to AIRTEL. One has to make 3-5 attempts before the Airtel phone rings. There is an Aircel message "The dialled network is busy" however when one dials the Airtel number from Idea / Voda / Raliance / Tata no such issue occurs. Guess the POIs (Points Of Interconnect) between AIRCEL and AIRTEL (Market Leader with over 100 Lakh customers in Andhra Pradesh) need to be increased as its only logical more calls would go from AIRCEL to Airtel than any other operator.
VALUE ADDED SERVICES - For a new launch the services available are quite impressive:
GPRS SERVICES
Aircel Pocket Internet - low browsing charges of 10p/10Kb
MMS - upto a maximum of 300kb for Rs 3 (no extra volume charges)
INFO SERVICES
Missed Call Alerts - charges Rs 15/30 days only
Subscription Alerts - Rs 7/week
(News/Cricket/Jokes/Astrology/Stocks/Beauty/Health etc)
ENTERTAINMENT SERVICES
Aircel Dialer Tunes - charges Rs 30/month, IVR Rs 6/min & Rs 15/ song. (Note: Song Validity is 90 days only)
TARIFFS - POSTPAIDhas 3 rental plans:
Super Value 200 - Rs 200 per month with Rs 500 Free min to any Local Mobile
Super Value 350 - Rs 350 per month with Rs 900 Free min to any Local Mobile
Spendcutter 2222 - Rs 2222 (6 month Advance rental) with Rs 1200 Free min to any Local Mobile every month
TARIFFS - PREPAIDhas 2 startup options:
Lifetime 99 - Talktime Rs 10
Lifetime 48 - Talktime Rs 5
STD @ Re 1 to any AIRCEL mobile across India / metros (Delhi/Mumbai only)
ISD @ Rs 5.99 (Gulf region - Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait)
ISD @ Rs 3.99 (US/ Canada)
Roaming - FREE Incoming on Aircel networks in "South corridor" (Tamil Nadu, Chennai, Kerala & Karnataka)
Overall a Good Network, would recommend as a 2nd connection.
