Thread: Mobile rant from America

We often compare our internet/telephony with America but consider this.

I am using a pre-paid (Pay-as-you-go) cell phone connection from AT&T here in the USA. These are the features:

a) Daily access charge of $1 for every day of use (not applicable when phone is not used on a day).
b) Outgoing calls - 10c a minute on peak time - any network.
c) Incoming calls - 10c a minute on peak time - any network.

(peak time = Monday 8 AM to Friday 6 PM)

d) Free AT&T to AT&T on off peak. 10c per minute to all others during off peak.
e) SMS - 15c per message

And here is the best part: I have to pay 15c on incoming messages as well

So we people in India - stop complaining about mobile services. At least all incoming services (calls or SMS) are free!!!!!!

Originally Posted by just4kix

We often compare our internet/telephony with America but consider this.

I am using a pre-paid (Pay-as-you-go) cell phone connection from AT&T here in the USA. These are the features:

a) Daily access charge of $1 for every day of use (not applicable when phone is not used on a day).
b) Outgoing calls - 10c a minute on peak time - any network.
c) Incoming calls - 10c a minute on peak time - any network.

(peak time = Monday 8 AM to Friday 6 PM)

d) Free AT&T to AT&T on off peak. 10c per minute to all others during off peak.
e) SMS - 15c per message

And here is the best part: I have to pay 15c on incoming messages as well

So we people in India - stop complaining about mobile services. At least all incoming services (calls or SMS) are free!!!!!!

What getting charged for incoming calls and incoming sms' i cannot believe it. I thought we were all gifted to not have such schemes here, else we all would have ended up huge bills, especially with the number of wrong calls and marketing calls we receive and marketing sms we receive. Paying to receive sms' is i guess too much.

Originally Posted by xwhyz

What getting charged for incoming calls and incoming sms' i cannot believe it. I thought we were all gifted to not have such schemes here, else we all would have ended up huge bills, especially with the number of wrong calls and marketing calls we receive and marketing sms we receive. Paying to receive sms' is i guess too much.

Yeah! Ain't life cool, man?

In India Virgin Mobile has just stared a new plan
Get payed 10 ps for incomming call
So for every 10 incoming call you get a out going call free

Originally Posted by gardencityboy

In India Virgin Mobile has just stared a new plan
Get payed 10 ps for incomming call
So for every 10 incoming call you get a out going call free

I guess you have misunderstood the post here. He was saying that the user who is using the mobile need to pay the mobile provider for incoming calls and not the mobile provider will pay the user for incoming which is the case with virgin mobile in india.

Originally Posted by gardencityboy

In India Virgin Mobile has just stared a new plan
Get payed 10 ps for incomming call
So for every 10 incoming call you get a out going call free

Hi friend, read my tone. It is all sarcastic ...

Sarcasm or not... I would say its still a lot better in states in relative terms..

Considering the minimum wage in both the countries or even average incomes ..

Say for example a small time chalo types job in India gives you Rs10000 a month and the same kind of job in states will get you $1700-1800 take home every month. (pls correct me if I am wrong)

Now the cost of making a one min call in India relative to what people earn in a day in India would be as follows:

Rs 10000 per month is Rs333 per day approx so cost of a one min call would be

0.3% of a days income

And in states :

at the rate of $1800 a month it comes to $60 a day and..

0.15% of a days income

So in my opinion Indians are paying twice as much as Americans

( There are service operators and plans which dont charge you for incomming calls in states so I have taken that factor out of the calculations)


I am not too sure about what I just said.. If some one would like to correct me .. You are most welcome

Thanks

Whoever I know in US are paying for incoming charges. The typical plan (post-paid customers) is - pay $ xxx and get yyy minutes (incoming and outgoing). There are other advantages such free weekend calls (within same network) but that is about it. I find the practice of charging for incoming messages (text) extremely perplexing. I can choose whether to receive an incoming call or not - I cannot do anything for SMS.

In India, I admit it that it is costly but landed infrastructure costs are much higher also.

When it comes to Broadband, we are paying thru over nose and skin.

Switch to skype Subscribe for a 3g service and buy a windows mobile and install skype on it.. Dont use the mobile service providers service for making or reciving calls.

You get a skype in number for a few $$ a year and calling a mobile or landline regardless of the service provider.. skype charges you 2.5 cents a min and billing is done by the second

I have been using skype for some time now in UK and I save hundreds every month.

If your service priovider has restrictions imposed for using voip using their 3g service then just talk to some techie and they can programme your mobile phone to use some different port or something like that I am not too sure what they do but after they do their thingie to your mobile .. your service provider wont get to know that you use it for voip

I even use skype here in India when I am home or in the office where I have wifi access and that saves a hell lot of money for people who call me from UK and also my international calls all cost less then 3 cents per min

Another huge money saver : ( Yes I am a desi at heart )

Dont get your sky with desi channels from sky.. Talk to some one who already has one and ask him/her if they are willing to reduce their monthly cost on satellite television ( For those who dont know dish tv costs a fortune in North america and Europe especially if you want Indian channels there and its just a few of them available there) and if they are willing to cooperate ask them to call sky for a second box for another television which is not going to cost as much every month and all the channels will be available on it..

Here is the trick : (This is just for general knowledge and I dont encourage anyone to do this as it is illegal to do so)

When the sky guys come in to set up the second box let them fix it and after 2-3 days just take off the dish from the outside wall off and call sky that its been stolen (You wont have to pay anything as sky insures it on their end) The sky guys will come back and will set up another one.. So now you have a complete set of the dish antenna and the tv box complete with the card in it.. all you need to do now is get a long cable from home base or some hardware store and set it up at any location you want and just keep paying the charges for second box .. the money you will now be paying in total will be about 30-40% less then what you would have been paying for two seperate connections so both the parties end up saving money.

Now the clever asses dont stop just yet instead of just one extra box.. find a friend who has a 4-5 bed room house and get 3-4 extra boxes and make a group so all of you will be paying about 70% less every month then what you all would be paying individually if you all had seperate subscriptions.

PS : I just wrote this post for general knowledge and to make every one aware of a little loophole which is already being exploited all over the world. I dont recomend or advise anyone to do this either

Thanks

I already use Yahoo! Voice for all calling everywhere. But I need a mobile also. As I said, I agree with you (admin) on all issues. I am willing to accept being charged for incoming calls also. I am just pissed off for being charged for incoming SMS, that too at 0.15c per message.

We are already doing the trick here....
Only we need to re-program teh boxes....