Having a multiplicity of operators is not going to help unless they are brought in line by a regulator that has real powers. This is wishful thinking unfortunately.

I was thinking of the old times when I was dependent on BSNL’s largesse. I fought the shitheads on the phone, clogged their email servers and created a lot of brouhaha online for the same. I made them run around to give me a connection that actually worked. I made them correct the billing faults; I made them see through my point. It was a tough battle but it was only designed with one intention. We can achieve far more success in life if we are allowed to reach our full potential and not be constrained with the artificial barriers. People across the world are reaching out to new avenues; our development stops just short of South Extension in New Delhi. Thats the kind of “Gurgaon” model that we hold up to the world to signify our progress.

Making the company pay for their follies is an example that I wish to hold up here. It makes sense to be persistent; sniff out their potential weaknesses and hammer on whatever they respond to you. I emailed all the previous mails with this implicit knowledge that even though no one is going to read it, the company would be shamed to have a mess on their hands. The media likes to sniff out such incidents and I had plans to alert them to such “harrassment”. Elsewhere it would have been a PR disaster because one of the most important system of a mobile company is their billing system. I am told that it is a very expensive solution and needs to be robust. If people start having doubts on the billing system, they would desert it like rats on a sinking ship. It is perhaps for this reason, the telecom operators are loath to act on the complaints.

Further, a system should gurantee the fact that it not open to abuse. Mobile cloning is a persistent danger and there are many dudes in Palika Bazar who do it for a small fee. There is an whole underground system to clone the shit; mobile companies must be able to proactively anticipate these incidents and prevent them. Or else, it would be a disaster. An utter chaos.

I have made them pay. If anyone is reading this in official capacity, a middle finger up to you. If someone is reading this in personal capacity, dude, you are a personal failure to make a company worth it.

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Despite their brilliant advertising claims, Vodafone India has made a mess of it’s customer care. Why doesn’t it translate into effective delivery at the ground level?

I had made a payment for my mobile phone elsewhere; outside from the home circle. I was assured that the billing system would be updated. As luck would have it, the system didnot update the payment and I started getting messages and calls from female “recovery agents” to pay my dues. Surprisingly, they have a knack of calling in at such odd hours; they start off without even extending basic courtesies. I insisted that I had paid for the amount and I directed them to enquire from their Vodafone Store where I had paid the cash. They did not make any effort to trace the amount but instead chose to lay the entire blame on me.

All said and done, they barred my outgoing calls and I had to make the payments under duress. Although, the phone was working again after much cajoling; they took an entire day to get it “activated”.

My credit limit is more than sufficient and they made me run around like a scared rabbit. What is clear from the entire episode is that despite their claims, they did not bother to check their backend (literally and figuratively) and rectify the issue. It could have been very simple to call up the dud on the other line (through proper channel in their parlance) and find out the billing details as well as the payment made. Although, in the routine cases it sounds audacious because they have to take care of “millions of customers” but the fact is that they cannot afford to loose loyal ones. I have remained with Hutch for over 3 years now only because of their talk plans. So far, I have not had much of the issues with their billing per se but this one off incident has shaken my faith in the company. So much so, that its more of a hurt than anger that’s bothering me.

There are many other stories like these replicated day in day out across the country. With an ineffective regulator and lack of awareness, most of these nitwits are having a free run.

This is the problem with having oligopolies. The customer isnt the king any longer.

UPDATE: I have been updating on the forums as well. So far, no reply from the company.

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For the same reason, I have never favoured iPods. I’d agree that they are beautiful. They can be easily navigable. But they don’t deliver bang for the buck. It doesn’t always boil down to having the “best” and the “latest” and paying oodles extra for the “coolness” factor. Or that “I have it too”.

Apple iPhone generated a lot of “news” online. After all, it is one smart phone that has wowed the geek audiences. Most of the people were willing to ignore the crappy AT&T services that were bundled for over two years. And that the speeds of access negate everything that iPhone aims to sell.

It is a classic Apple approach to sell underpowered hardware and generate sales for incremental hardware upgrades for later versions. Perhaps they would upgrade the hard drive; change colours, have a better camera or make it work on “better neworks”. I cannot crystal gaze but Jobs needs loads of marketing crap to sell the future versions in the Mac Expos.

However, all this marketing hype has laid focus squarely on the “leaders” like Nokias and Erricsons of the world. With it’s crappy N series handsets, Nokia has not exactly been able to take the market by storm. Their marketing campaigns are squarely based on rolling everything into one which makes the handsets bulky and unweildy. I own a simple basic handset that helps me to stay connected; this is the future driver of the growth for developing countries and I believe that incremental improvements in the battery life or menus would help them to retain the market confidence. At best, the Taiwainese/Korean companies are gearing up to meet the challange from Apple onslaught. I doubt whether they would succeed in the competitive US market; however no one would deny them the chance to innovate. Nokia needs to update it’s Symbian OS which is clunky and slow.

I believe that the sole focus of iPhone is to test market the mobile media and means to access the same. As Internet becomes ubiquitous, the content (and the service providers) would chase you wherever you are.

I believe that the porn industry would squarely benefit from the introduction of iPhone. They have been at the forefront of the technological revolution and it would be interesting to see frustrated “jerkins” using the in thing to surf porn. AT&T is no stranger to this and they have been distributing porn earlier on.

It would be hard to do any justice to this post without linking on to what others are saying. Youth Curry raises a valid point about Apple loosing it’s sales in India because of it’s inept marketing and expensive overheads in form of duties and taxes. Unfortunately, Apple has been loosing sales to illegitimate channels which makes it worse from their perspective. Yet, noting is being done. I wouldn’t be seeing this phone till about next year. This means that only the black market would rule with it’s prices presently.

Opera Watch says that Opera Mini is a better bet anyday. iPhone’s zoom feature is nothing new; it was all there in Opera Mini since it’s launch. Another added advantage is the ability to use a virtual cursor by just using the keys on the keyboard. This makes is much more universal in appeal. Imagine using Opera Mini on the iPhone. I am not sure whether it would be possible to download and install Mini on your sexy brand new acquisition.

Early reviews on the same blog entry show that iPhone is slow. This is to be expected when a “new generation” phone is launched on ancient networks.

Emergic had a series of articles written from across the blogosphere about iPhone. (1,2,3,4,5) Much of it is the adulation of the “iconic iPhone” and makes no sense. However, Cringely hits the nail in the head squarely. He writes :

The iPhone absolutely needs AJAX applications for the phone to be a success on AT&T’s EDGE network. By pushing more functional logic into the browser, the bandwidth consumed per http round-trip is significantly reduced, making the phone apps faster and helping to justify that big price tag. The problem with this is that AJAX apps don’t always work the same (or at all) on every browser. The iPhone has real browser support, which is good, but remember AJAX is based on JavaScript, which in this case is not so good. JavaScript isn’t statically typed and each browser has its own version of JavaScript. Developers are typically forced to hand-code different versions of their AJAX apps for different browsers. With the AJAX economy dictating that browsers with big market share like IE and Firefox get most of the effort, that leaves Safari as a second-class browser and, potentially, a liability for the iPhone.

He feels that iPhones have been deliberately crippled for performance.

Remember that a key component of iPhone marketing is that the device will run a version of OS X, making it more computer than phone. When the iPhone finally ships and some techies have voided their warranties and torn the thing apart, they’ll probably find it uses a processor running at a gigahertz or more — by far the fastest processor ever put in a mobile phone — a processor more powerful than that in my Mom’s PC. With all that power locked inside, of course some users will want to imagine their iPhone AS their PC, which Apple — at least for now — would rather not enable because it might hurt Macintosh sales. So they’ve hobbled the iPhone with essentially the same crappy text entry capability as on any other phone.

Where does that leave Indian market in all that? Apple has been smart enough to realise that the growth story being talked off here is all hogwash. The number of the new handset sales does not justify the accrued numbers. However, there are no concrete statistics for the second hand handset sales. The number may be higher or lower than the professed numbers.

Further, the market is maturing in terms of people willing to try out the value added services. Yet, the billing hassles have not yet been resolved. Another problem is that we hardly get to see demand for “unlimited access”; I believe that some of the operators have such schemes. It truly defines “world wide wait” (www) as it is intended to be. The speed of access is pitiable as compared to dial up for a contrast.

Lets wait and watch for it’s debut in India.

Update: This has been crossposted on Desicritics.

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I managed to get my bills cleared (I was billed for over 90 grand. Yes, that’s 90,000/-) Such was my ‘usage’. After a protracted “battle” with the lower staff and the assholes milling around the exchange, I was issued a “corrected” bill which made my day. It took another 2 days for the resumption of broadband.

Unfortunately, due to the delay on their part, my unlimited plan would come in effect only from next month onwards. I have mailed to the CMD becuase their present claims have left me totally stumped. Having just 400 MB at my disposal, WTF I would do online?

I am looking forward for their response in writing that my bills be treated as home plan unlimited instead of the present 250 crap that I am saddled with. I fail to understand as to why such kind of a deadwood gets employment with BSNL. By the way, what is the minimum criteria for getting a job with the government?

It’s working; touchwood. Mercifully, I didnt have to go around to the courts to get the matter resolved.

Thanks for the insightful comments.

I shall keep you posted on any latest developments on this.

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I was shocked to see my bill reflecting data usage charges for Home Plan 250! When confronted, I was told that doctors are not allowed to take in 900 plus unlimited! Imagine the travesty of the morons in high places that BSNL has hired for itself.

Despite repeated complaints at the local level, the matter is finally stuck up with the General Manager who seems to be loath in moving his ass on the issue. I have demanded that I be issued a duplicate bill backdated from the day of connection and all the usage charges be waived off.

I have two options. Either I file a case in the Consumer Court and claim damages or file Right to Information application to know as to how and on what basis I was alloted a plan that I never applied for.

It seems to be a far fetched idea but then I have no choice to fight it out. Meanwhile my telephone line is disconnected which makes it useless to keep it.

Airtel hasn’t reverted back to me to offer me a “high speed unlimited broadband’ despite repeated reminders to the same. They seem to be staffed with BSNL applicant rejects and more than anything else a bunch of loosers with loads of cash to spare.

Unless of course these companies evolve an effective in house grieval redressal mechanisms, we would get to see many cases like these. I shall keep you posted about the developments in this regard. By the way, I have mailed to the CMD explaining to him about the present state of affairs.

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He writes:

In the initial months, we didn’t use our Idea phone too much and life was fine. But the moment we began to use the phone, our problems started. Every once in a while, the line would be disconnected, with no prior intimation whatsoever. It took several phone calls to figure out what was happening.

Whatever be the answers to these complicated questions, I eventually spoke to a customer executive named Arvind. I am deliberately mentioning this name, in case Idea wants to verify how it loses its customers.

With assorted call centres functioning all over the place, one suspects that companies pay scant attention to how these people respond to customer complaints. The sum and substance of Arvind’s contention was that these were Idea’s rules and if I wanted to use Idea, I would have to lump it.

Let’s see what “wisdom” they spew from their “official” website. They have been titled as “core beliefs”:(Emphasis mine)

The company continuously harnesses the power of wireless revolution to provide world-class products and services. It aims at responding to customer needs proactively by anticipating requirements and providing ready solutions.

Idea Cellular draws inspiration from the loyalty of its subscribers to keep raising the bar, to shape the future, and to change and enrich the life of each and every member of its ever-growing(!!!!!) family of subscribers.

Idea Cellular’s MISSION:
Innovate. Stimulate(They just stimulated this post). Liberate…(They just “liberated” a customer who happens to write in for a respected financial daily which is having one of the largest circulations pan India and Idea Cellular has made an ass of itself)

Through continuous innovation, Idea Cellular seeks to liberate customers from the shackles of time and space(How does it relate to getting my calls connected/ taking care of my billing hassles)?

The corporate crap that they spew (all the while choking on their own puke) is all designed by advertising agencies (the pitch reports as they call it)/ or some really “smart” chap who has a way with the words and wants to curry favours with the CEO’s.

I deliberately highlighted the whole thing because Bibek Debroy makes another pertinent observation (something that I have always mentioned here in my earlier posts):

Instead of squandering resources on press conferences, I wish CEOs of Indian companies would ring up their companies, pretending to be customers. I suspect they would learn a lot….Needless to say, such experiences are passed around and probably cost companies much more than what they gain through splurging on advertisements.

True. Very true. I really wish someone highlighted the sorry state of Broadband Access too. Let it be spread through the media and let’s make the companies accountable for their lapses. 256k? Broadband? Are we kidding ourselves? (By the way, I confirmed that existing cable pairs can easily carry upto 2Mbps without any further upgradation of the existing telephone exchanges. Still, 256k is f***ing peanuts when you compare with South Korea where guys run riot with 100 Mbps).

Some day. I hope that the voices of discontent would be carried far and wide than the limited scope of this blog. Some day, these companies would be forced to act on behalf of the customers; when customer would truly have a choice.

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They have highlighted a persons problem who was forced to cough up Rs 7.25 lakhs for local calls made in 2 months! The person in question tried every avenue and thence he took his problem to the media. The problem was solved immediately. What otherwise took 11 years. Because of pro active media. Thats why we need media to act as a watch dog. I won’t say that media ought to butt in to solve such cases like billing complaints, but surely can funnel people’s voices to make sure that the accountabilty sets in.

Anyway, I am posting across two screenshots of BSNL’s legendary perfidy. The gentleman in question is suffering from dire medical problems and I know him personally. Being wrecked by old age, he is not very mobile and is forced to stay on bed for extended spells.

He got an inflated bill (screen shot 1). He had to personally call the high up officials and explain it to them that the billing hassle be rectified. Despite so called assurances, there was no answer forthcoming. The gent in question told the high ups that he isn’t mobile because of his pressing and urgent medical problems; that he is incapacitated. Yet, there was no show of mercy from these officials.

After a threat of legal action and perhaps much boo boos later, the corrected bill was issued (roughly after 3 months). You can see the screenshot here. The difference is stark! The original bill amount was Rs 3000/- plus. This was reduced to Rs 600/- plus only!

Now, what do we make out of them. Despite claiming the fact that BSNL has an established Customer service, not everyone gets any redressal to the same effect. I have heard horror stories about people interacting with their staff; you would honestly want to give up in disgust. It is the same company that made a neat profit of Rs 10,000 crore. Yes, that was in the last fiscal. Yet, with such a profitable enterprise and it’s engaging in inflating bills.

( I have had to obscure the personal details in the screenshots to protect the identity of the person in question).

We need this to be highlighted in the media and perhaps force them to act.

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The goal of private sector is to challange the established natural monopolies. This is hoped that it would lead to better customer service or outreach. However, the fact remains that overall control should remain with the Government which should create a conducive atmosphere for the businesses. The reason for the control is that Governments are answerable to the people and it’s these institutions that are proxy ruled by people power.

This is an idealised scenario. Coming to telecom, this is one of the most crucial sectors of any nation. Be it war or peace, we need to have the public control over the assets. While in theory it does sound good to have investments flowing in, fact remains that the vested interests of the multinationals are detrimental to the nation’s interests. A glaring example is that of the manufacturing telecom equipment. I have already mentioned earlier that Indian industry could have been incubated, though we chose to rely on foreign manufacturers. We got in the outside network, spent our foreign exchange, spend money to pay them for after sales and royalties for using their standards (as for Qualacomm).

For me, it’s the national interest that comes in first. As I had pointed out, South Korea acted in it’s own national interest. Now, it is a world leader in broadband connectivity.

In any case, name any instance where the entry of private players has lead to better services. It’s TRAI’s own surveys that claim the level of congestion in services. I see the newspapers everyday which has scores of people complaining about their service provider. Many people who swear by billing hassles because their bills don’t just add up to their usage patterns. Worst, these people aren’t accountable because the regulator isn’t affective.

In this scenario,privatisation is mandated only if there are proper mechanisms in place.

What is the way out? Is privatisation the panacea for all ills? The answer is emphatic no. Yet, we must all speak out in one voice to make the institutions accountable. I am sick and tired of their double speak. At times, when I read that Broadband prices are one of the lowest in the world, I feel like wringing the writer’s neck. Nothing flames me up than spreading canards and lies.

It’s the industry associations, by way of money power speak out through media. Huge ad spends means that these “leaders of tomorrow” have the papermen chase them to their toilets and sign up endorsements. Where is the freedom of press?The worst off when they claim to keep the consumer interest tantamount though their actions are to the contrary.

Keeping all these factors in mind, we ought to be self reliant and force these companies to invest in the human capital in this nation. Importing is not wrong but not in the long term. As I had mentioned before, it was Space programme that has made us a viable aspirational superpower. I was reading about the world class Brahmos missile, that has been made in collaboration with Russians. Something that is far superior to anything in the world at present. We can do it but we need to pull ourselves out of the muck created by mini fiefdoms.

Democracy can rule only if the “powers that be” are made accountable. This blog is little step in that direction. I cannot do it all alone but need your help to make it possible.

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