Airtel rings in Bihar mobile internet revolution with launch of 3G services ~ GprsBay

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Airtel rings in Bihar mobile internet revolution with launch of 3G services

Bharti Airtel, India’s leading telecommunications company has announced the launch ofAirtel 3G services in Patna. With this, customers in Bihar will be able to leverage Airtel’s world class 3G network to enjoy fast internet access and a host of innovative services like Mobile TV entertainment, video calls, live streaming of videos and on the go social networking.

Airtel mobile customers can opt for 3G services to experience mobile internet at never-experienced-before speeds. To provide faster internet accessibility for computers and laptop users, Airtel also has introduced special HSPA 3G dongles for customers. Airtel also announced the national launch of a suite of video Interactive Voice Response (IVR) products, which will help even non-internet users to use video streaming to enjoy the power of 3G services on their mobile phones. With this, Airtel 3G customers can now also make calls to video IVR to access various video products like live darshan, video talkies and video portal.

All these services can be enjoyed seamlessly as Airtel provides its customers with timely updates and alerts on their data usage – helping them control their expenditure. The company has also introduced a first of its kind ‘internet usage calculator’ available online to help customers analyse their current internet data usage and choose an Airtel 3G plan accordingly.

Bharti Airtel 3G Tariff Plans for Bihar & Jharkhand

Airtel’s 3G price plans are personalised and simple to understand:

1. PAYG VBC (Pay as you go): For all existing Airtel 2G customers who want to experience the power of Airtel internet on 3G for a short while, this tariff plan is the solution. The customer will pay the same prevailing data rates as on 2G service, but with the advantage of a faster mobile broadband.

Plan Type	MRP	Data Rate
3G-VBC	Default rate for data access	30p/20Kb

2. Value plans: These plans allow you a 50% discounted rate over the PAYG VBC plan. Applicable only for postpaid users.

Plan Type	MRP	Data Rate	Validity
Value Plan- Prepaid	Rs.20	15p/20Kb	30 days

3. Sachet Plans: The objective of these plans is to drive mass trial and adoption of 3G. As part of the Sachet Plans is also a ‘minutes’ based plan wherein customer can access internet on 3G in terms of ‘time’ instead of ‘volume’. This plan is typically suitable for youth wherein lot of internet browsing has traditionally happened through Cyber Cafes on basis of ‘time’.

Plan Type	Prepaid MRP	Free Data	Validity
Sachet Plan	Rs.9	10 MB	1 day
Sachet Plan	Rs.45	30 minutes	1 day
Sachet Plan	Rs.65	65 MB	3 day

4. Standard Plans: These plans are best suited for the mid to high-end users of data.

Plan Type	Prepaid MRP	Postpaid Monthly Rent	Free Data	Validity
Standard Plan	Rs.102	Rs.100	100 MB	30 days
Standard Plan	Rs.201	Rs.200	250 MB	30 days
Standard Plan	Rs.450	Rs.450	600 MB	30 days
Standard Plan	Rs.750	Rs.750	2 GB	30 days

5. FlexiShield Plan: This plan has a combination of free data usage and a low inbuilt Volume Based Charging rate. The plan is constructed in a way that it provides the customer the flexibility to start from a relatively lower initial rent and pay as per usage and shields from a bill shock with a bill cap at Rs. 2000.

Plan Type	Prepaid MRP	Postpaid Monthly Rent (merge postpaid & prepaid	Free Data	Validity	Remarks
FlexiShield Plan	Rs.675	Rs.675	1.25 GB	30 days	1p/100Kb with 3G speed till Total Data Bill reaches Rs.2000, after that no charges on data access with speed of 20kbps

To know more or join Airtel 3G services, customers can visit www.airtel.in/3G , call 12134 (toll-free) or SMS ‘3G HELP’ to 121.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Raghunath Mandava, Operations Director – East, Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel said, “Having won the trust of over 1.5 crore customers, Airtel is the leading mobile services provider across Bihar and Jharkhand. We believe Airtel 3G will lead the revolution of internet in Bihar, bringing our customers closer to an all new world of possibilities.”