Tata maintains affordability with 3G

Tata DOCOMO, the GSM arm of Tata Teleservices, which became the first private operator to launch its 3G services in India this Diwali, has announced tariff plans for it’s 3G consumers.
The Tata has introduced tariffs under two categories ‘Small screen’ aimed at mobile phone users and large screen for laptop, tablets and PCs (through dongles).
Its GSM subscribers can make 3G calls at just 0.66 paise per second.
“Our very approach to 3G pricing has been to take the ‘worry’ out of telecom,” Deepak Gulati, Executive President, Mobility Business Division, Tata Teleservices said.
He added “Our dual-tone pricing strategy—Small Screen Plans and Large Screen Plans—provides tremendous flexibility and value to our customers, enabling them to choose options best suited to their usage patterns and share of pocket.
The company has also announced different tariff plans for both post-paid and pre-paid 3G mobile services ranging from Rs 350 to Rs 2,000, which include monthly minutes as well as data usage.
For 3G data services on large screens like computers and laptops, Tatas have announced a package of Rs 2,000 for 15 GB of data usage at a speed of 21.1 Mbps. And beyond 15GB at 256kbps. There are 5 different unlimited plans to choose from for the customer.
Company has also said that all purchases and recharges of 3G services done before 31 December 2010 will get an additional 100 MB of free data per month for the first two months, as an invitation offer.
Tata Docomo claims that it’s HSPA+ 3G Network, set up with the assistance of NTT Docomo, supports high-speed Internet access with speeds of up to 21.1 Mbps. The network also supports high-definition voice (HD Voice).
The Company had launched its 3G services this Diwali in nine Circles—Karnataka, Kerala, Rest of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya-Pradesh-Chhattisgarh and UP (West).
Other private operators like Bharti and Vodafone are also likely to start 3G services in the next few months. But the benchmark set by Tata DoCoMo would once again put pressure on all the operators to follow ‘per second’ pulse.