TMSBiz-Tech,Mktng,Sales n Biz

Recently TATA Indicom launched a new plan called Pay Per Call Plan(PPCP).The main point of the plan is that it is a pay per call plan and not pay per minute or some duration plan.No matter how long you talk,you pay just one rupee.The plan sounds superb.But is it ?

Look at the ad above.It clearly says ‘End of counting minutes.Keep Talking’, I was very impressed by the plan on the first look.I thought TATA is creating waves in the telecom sector,first TATA Docomo pay per second,now pay per call by TATA Indicom.

Then things changed when i was asked by one of my friends to visit TATA Indicom website.I selected Delhi/NCR as the circle as the plan is not available in Mumbai/Maharashtra.

I found this

On tariff rates its mentioned per 10 mins,I didn’t get it.I thought to myself when they say time duration doesn’t matter,why are they mentioning tariff per 10 minutes.Then i read more and found these lines in the bottom of the table.

Note :
1. Each local call to be charged at Rs 1 for 10 minutes & each STD call to be charged at Rs 3 for 10 Minutes
2. Pulse for Local & STD call will be 600 secs
3. Pulse for Roaming calls will be 60 secs
4. This new starter kit allows keep talking benefit only with the purchase of a new handset on the tata indicom network , if sim is used with old & used handsets , the default tariffs of Rs 1/min for Local calls & 1.5/min for STD Calls . Local SMS @ Rs1 & National SMS @ Rs 1.5
5. As a special promotion , customers will enjoy an extended pulse of 24 hours for all local calls for first 15 days from date of activation
6. Daily rental to be charged at Rs 1 per day
7. Keep talking plan is a stand alone plan & can not be coupled with any other special offers which has free talk time or free minutes built in.

Just the point No. 5 mentions that charges are irrespective of duration you talk and that too is valid just for 15 days.For this plan you need to buy a new handset.If you don’t buy it,then no such plan would exist on your old tata handset.And the most important thing is that the pulse is there Its 600 secs(or 10 minutes).

The plan doesn’t mean that i can talk non stop to my parents on a single call without bothering about the money.If i cross 10 minutes mark i would be billed for next call.

In last post about TATA Tion i had mentioned that in India TATA stands for trust but in this case it seems to be a bit fuzzy.

The plan of 10 minutes pulse is actually amazing.10 mins is a long pulse rate.Majority of the calls are withing the 10 min window.TATA would have gained a lot more customers if they would have said the truth as such.If they would have claimed the 10 mins pulse in their communications then still the response would have been the same or even better.

in the TV commercial They say ‘Ab Ghadi ka atyachar band aur minute ginna band(the atrocities of clock have come to an end,stop counting minutes,just talk)’.This positioning is far from truth.

With 10 minutes pulse,still people will have to watch the time else their bills would double.It does matter how long your call duration is. 10 mins or 11 mins makes a difference.

TATA indicom could have come up with a better communication strategy in which nothing is hidden from the potential customer.

Many of my friends have already expressed concern on this.One of my  family members has a TATA Indicom connection.Even he was upset when he learnt about the actual plan.

TATA Indicom should be a lot more careful in the future as they have a big brand to rely on.

What Say ?

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