A comparison between all 3G operators data plans:

Note: All 3G data plans for mobile or dongle with 30 days validity/monthly rentals are

taken under consideration.

From the above comparison chart, it is certain that 3G is not a cheap business like voice

calls! Without not a single pan India 3G operator, it is really hard to say which operator is

best on basis of tariff, coverage and services because you have 4-5 operators in your

circles and you have to choose among them. PSU duo BSNL and MTNL is cheaper than

the private operators. MTNL is still offering unlimited plans  with 30/60/90/180 days,

which eventually offering unlimited 3G data for Rs 750/month. MTNL also has a 7 day

pack for high downloaders offering 25GB for Rs 499.

But what actually I am talking about is Pocket Friendly Billing. As you can see you opt for

1 GB pack at Rs 650 and after 1 GB your operator will charge you 10p/10kB or more i.e.

Per 100 MB you have to pay Rs 1000! At the same time if the user opt for 2GB pack it

would be more economical as 2GB data pack comes at Rs 750 – just Rs 100 more!

So it has to be like this – Whenever a user uses more than 50MB post the free usage,

his billing will be as per next higher billing level i.e. after the user consumes 1GB+50MB

his billing will be as per 2GB data plan. And I think it should be exclusively for postpaid

users.

There are many subscribers who don’t care to check their bills or prepaid account

regularly and at the end of month they are on Bill Shock! Airtel’s Flexishield Plan is a

nice initiative with a bill cap. But I think flat rate plans should be introduced on 3G arena

as they are existing on EVDO market widely.

Suggestions for User Friendly Billing:

Have dedicated USSD and SMS code to check data balance and after each data

session a SMS is to be sent to the users quoting his last usage along with

remaining usage.

When the user has 10% of his free usage remaining, alert him via SMS or email.

Postpaid users must have a choice to bill limit – Rs 2000 to Rs 10,000 or users

can set an alert when the billing goes beyond a certain value.

Introduce Flat Rate concept on 3G. It is widely accepted on EVDO networks.

Speed will be restricted once you cross the certain usage limit for the rest of the

month. But I don’t like speed restriction at 10-20kilobit/s ! Make it as per 2G –

128kbps is fair enough.

Whenever a user uses more than 50MB post the free usage, his billing will be as

per next higher billing level.

3G is now at its initial stage, and operators invested huge – so don’t expect anything

affordable and pocket friendly in anytime before 6 months. But it is also true with such

costly packs – there are few takers, and network is mostly unused. In this way nor the

subscribers neither the operator can make good deal.

On 2G call rates dropped massively when new players entered in the market in 2008. So

wait for the next wave, but it as expected will not come in the form of 3G, rather 4G.

Main attraction of 3G is high speed wireless internet – it is fast, so fast never

experienced by Indian users even on wired broadband.