Eternal Wait for Decent Telecom

Last week I went to pay my bills for Internet phone taken from BSNL. It is the same argument I have to face repeatedly. As a customer, why do I have to suffer a lack of choice? I do feel cheated time and again. The worst is that I feel helpless each time. The telecom policy dreamt up a hope that we would be able to see a multitude of companies, each falling over each other to serve the customer who is a king. Bah. More than a pauper, I am reduced to nothing. Be it invasion of my privacy, getting those unsolicited calls or ignorant army of morons as customer support staff; I do not think so that I got what I actually deserve for my investment in the services.

The worst-case scenario is for broadband. This is indeed taking ever and ever to materialize. BSNL did launch its broadband. However, I am wary on their past record for customer care and the quality of the infrastructure. It is true that people have started complaining about the poor quality of broadband due to line disturbances. I have always maintained that it is easier to wake up a person from his deathbed than getting anything done out of the so-called customer care.

However, in advertisements I am promised the earth. Sachin Tendulkar has endorsed Airtel brand. How does he being featured in the same get me better quality of services? I remember when I was their customer couple of years back. My folks could not get through my number. Repeated complaints to the customer care made no change. Finally, I had to shoot a letter all the way to their head office. Belatedly after about a month, some dingbat chose to reply in the usual corporate tone. The same kind of language that they choose to advertise. World-class infrastructure? After much haggling and repeated calls, the fault was traced in their switch! So much for their intelligence. This gave me an insight in the way call centers worked. After making repeated calls, I was on friendly terms with some sensible people. Admittedly, not all are dumb. Some are bit more professional in their jobs. I have to know their problems and the way companies chose to deal with their customers. Dude, they said. Prepaid card? Forget it.

Internet remains a bugbear. I need Internet to keep myself abreast of what is the latest in my field. However, the high cost deters me to surf with peace of mind. If at times I am able to get a decent connection speed, the line drops in the middle of a download. Things have changed for the better in the past one year. Earlier it was a harrowing time to connect to the exchange. Often it took me a dedicated patience of about an hour or so before I chose to give up. What of the wasted calls? It profited BSNL in any case.

The other day I went to pay mobile phone bill for someone. I was astonished to see the various kinds of charges that they had levied. This was a GSM phone and the company had charged astronomically for roaming charges. It seemed strange that how can Reliance charge a pittance for the same. Having ones own network is imperative if you have to succeed in the telecom market. It also hinted at the way the GSM operators have ganged up to charge excessively from the customers. Any “arguments” with the bill collection agencies is futile.

The worst-case scenario is the invasion of privacy when GSM customers get unsolicited calls. There have been reports of people buying a brand new number and within a few hours, some moron is offering a credit card from a bank. This only exposes the fact the companies sell the numbers. In this case, they could have alerted the calling agency that the given number is activated. This is not a confirmed fact but it is possible, given the trend here in India. I would suggest that one should avoid handing out numbers in public places. Invariably it finds its way in the databases that can be had for a song.

I really wish that things improve. TRAI is supposed to be a regulator. Why hasn’t it stepped in and said that enough is enough? The recent Gartner report has mentioned that telecom has grown from strength to strength but the last mile connectivity remains pathetic. What of the last mile Sir? Come on in and you would realize that getting a telephone line from government provider is an exercise in patience. If you are willing to swallow your pride and ready to be insulted, well then you can have a look at what broadband means here. One thing that they were absolutely right about. The report mentions clearly that quality of services remains much to be desired. This is what I had mentioned in my earlier posts too.

Established players like Sify call their pathetic lines as broadband. With the absurd data limits of 300 MB, Airtel is offering the “lowest priced” broadband. 300 MB for what Mr.Mittal? Opening up my browser and closing it down? What possible Internet surfing could I do in 300 MB without you ripping me off in the process? Why be so absurd, guys?

I believe that it is the hangover of the past when the powers that be handed out favors because they wanted it to be that way. These people have created artificial scarcity when there is none. Plan a decent connection and sell the product. We customers are ready to pay for something good, Sir! Provided it is reasonably priced, assured services in the event of downtime and go that extra mile in ensuring that your customers remain happy. Does that take too much? Nope. It takes only a little effort on your behalf.

Discuss on: Sify Broadband, Tata Indicom, Airtel Broadband, Reliance Broadband, MTNL – BSNL Broadband, Dial Up, Others

This post was submitted by Dr. Abhishek Puri on the Broadband Blog on Techwhack.

Tags: Advertisement, Airtel, Airtel Broadband, Broadband, BSNL, BSNL Broadband, Customer Support, GSM, India, Internet, Mobile, MTNL, Opera, Prepaid, privacy, Reliance, Reliance Broadband, Tata, Tata Indicom, Telecommunications India, TRAI

Airtel and Sunil Bharti Mittal – Untold Story

Sunil Bharti Mittal must be a happy man by now. Hailing from a small town in Punjab, Ludhiana, he has achieved in life what some people dream of. He was a push button telephone manufacturer until recently. It was the winds of change in the telecom sector, which really propelled him in the national limelight. However, Airtel has its own share of bloopers, which are clearly not in the public domain. I shall try and lay out a case as to why their practices are not in the national interest.

There was a cover page in Business World magazine recently whose title said “The man who gave up his network away”. It was clearly unprecedented step in the telecom sector anywhere in the world. Network is one thing that is sacrosanct to any owner. However, in a smart and clever move he did that which could fetch him a lot of savings. I am not going in the details of the dealings or the pros and cons. This is clearly a business move, which he knows best. My only concern is the overwhelming presence of the multinational corporations in the sector and such crucial as this one.

There are two main issues here. In my earlier post here, I had mentioned as to why FDI has not really changed the telecom scenario. More money for expansion invariably comes at the cost of risk to other operators. I shall go in that detail a little later. The overriding concern is the technology that would be used for the switches and telecom equipment. I read in Rediff article recently that low cost equipment is feasible as of now. If we talk of partnership between the academia and the industry, then this would have been a golden opportunity to reclaim our investments in IITs across the country. I am sure that spurred on by the demand they would have come out with some solution. Thus, save the precious foreign exchange. It is clear that overwhelming presence of the MNCs in the sector would clearly benefit their host nations. A poorly thought of strategy indeed, to increase the FDI.

The second crucial aspect is the security. I have a reason to believe that Singapore based companies are actually a front for the Chinese government. Thus, surreptitiously they are entering this sector. Why the mandarins sitting high up haven’t really thought of this at all? This is beyond any logical conclusion. I have opposed FDI on this very ground because these are ill prescribed prescriptions of the donor agencies. The so-called security measures announced were good enough to keep the Left shut up their mouths. Not that these people are not nationalists. The very idea or the foundation of their beliefs is flawed and outdated.

However, the biggest beneficiary has been Airtel after the increase in the FDI. They have realized, although belatedly, that value added services is the way to go. There was one major flaw in the roll out of the subscribers. To ramp up the numbers they concentrated mainly on the prepaid subscribers. The health of any telecom network is determined by the number of post-paid subscribers it has. To correct this they have started resorting to monopolistic tactics. The GPRS subscribers on the prepaid networks can only access the Airtel Live portal. In case they wish to download anything, a hefty charge of Rs 10 is charged per request. This is clearly anti competitive and goes against the established logic. Of course, a better way could have been to introduce a recharge voucher for a fixed monthly fee in case one wishes to access the GPRS and thence Internet. This forces the people to shift to post paid segment where the ownership costs are much higher.

Airtel has invested heavily in building up its brand. However, despite the greatest cricketer of our times, their advertising pitch does not enamor me. I believe that Airtel had consistently fallen behind the TRAI’s parameters in terms of quality of offerings barring a few circles. Hence, the newer ad pitches of “stronger and clearer” network.

The fixed line business is imperative for growth. As I had mentioned, increased funding would now mean that it needs to acquire operators with fixed line business. One that comes to my mind is Connect from HFCL in Punjab. After a relative lull in the roll out of services, it has suddenly woke up to ramp up subscribers. I was surprised to see their advertisement banners recently. Perhaps it could be because of entry of TATA in the Punjab circle. I have a feeling that HFCL wants to ramp up numbers and sell out. As it is, they have a lousy service and customer support in the after sales services. Airtel would want to pick up this stake for good because it does not make any business sense to duplicate the entire infrastructure. In any case, there is not room enough for another fixed line operator given the fact that Punjab has BSNL and Connect offering their services.

It is interesting to note the recent news that was reported in the media. On the announcement of the unified licensing regime, any operator who wanted to have a fixed line license was allowed to pay the migration fee. Airtel slapped a notice on the government asking it refund the same after the second round of policy changes were announced. It was clearly pointed out that fixed line license was voluntary. Airtel could have waited for the same or forego this amount. Is Mr. Bharti keeping his idle legal department busy? I am looking forward for the judgment.

Before I end this post, as the events have unfolded I have a hunch that Mr. Bharti would want to sell out his stake in Airtel. That explains his recent diversification in selling vegetables. It is clearly an untapped market and would go a long way to improve the best agricultural practices. I wish him all the best. The main reason is that despite all his ills, his was the first network that got the mobile network in India. How he pulled it off is another story.

Tags: Advertisement, Advertising, Airtel, Airtel Broadband, Broadband, BSNL, Chinese, Customer Support, GPRS, Hutch, India, Internet, Media, Mobile, MTNL, Opera, Prepaid, Rediff, Reliance, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Tata, Telecommunications India, TRAI, Value Added Services

Tata Indicom and its idiocies

If you thought that private operators have improved the availability of services, here is a personal blow-by-blow account of Tata Indicom and its idiocies. I had written a mail last year to the Customer Care centre enquiring about their Internet services in my city. At present, they have presence in the nearby city for which I would have had to pay heavy pulse charges in order to access the same since my usage is high.

I commented about the lack of digital access number for the same. I have a BSNL line, which restricts outgoing numbers only to 172xxx numbers under their promotional scheme to improve access to internet. This fact I brought to VSNL’s notice. However, the reply I got merely repeated the same issue I had raised. So much for their standard of comprehension. As the days change to weeks and weeks to months, I have a strong belief that standards of IQ are falling in the customer support across board.

Cut back to a couple of months. They tied up with a private service provider in my city for providing Internet access. However, the access to their number (172226) from BSNL was still barred. (Reflects BSNL s anti competitive policy, which denied me the right to choose).

Finally after all that happened, I chose to keep my mouth shut and waited for the assurances of their frontline staff (customer service what else) that access is being worked out. Fast-forward it to last month. VSNL had an agreement with the private operator, which was not renewed at the end of the year. The contract terminated, the existing subscribers were asked to access an alternative number, which entailed heavy pulse charges. All along the line, they promised to set up their servers that would give local access to 172226. In fact, there was an activity on the ground, but nothing came off it. The decision to set up the server never happened and they went back on their promises to provide connectivity leaving their existing customers high and dry. Last heard one of them even threatened legal action.

I was talking to the distributor concerned with the commotion, when I realized that how these people have repeatedly went on their promises. Not realizing the enormous costs to the person concerned but at the cost of the goodwill that he had earned in the market, they have almost duped him. Whatever account he gave me off VSNL was depressing to say the least. Of course, I cannot reveal my source of information in order to protect his privacy.

Tata has launched its mobile services in my city recently. I went and enquired about the Internet access. Howsoever smart these people are, it is clear that they presented themselves as sorry figures for disorganization. Heavy usage of internet is unheard off in their offices and there is no package for unlimited surfing as Reliance has. In fact, they were quite happy to deflect my queries to the same distributor for accessing the internet packs. In the course of discussion, they even did not bother to ask me about my requirements for the same. I do not expect to be pampered, but if one wants to sell a product, there is definitely a way around to do so.

The foregoing account gives me enough proof that Tata’s are best in making “Desh ka Namak”. I wish they stuck on the same. The after sales services are absolutely lousy. Despite the massive hoarding showing smiling Indian Cricket Captain, I wonder what good has it done to them. If they cannot take care of the existing customers and reneging on their commitments and promises, why would new customers ever sign up for the same?

The purpose of this post is not to trash the quality of the services because I have never used the same. Hence, I cannot comment on the same. This is something that I have experienced on a first hand basis and a personal account. I have a reason to believe that VSNL s infrastructure and the net telephony offer is excellent. A great product that is being marketed so blandly by the bosses in the saddle, it is hard to believe that they got their jobs in the first case. Or rather retained it in the first place.
VSNL is advertising itself as the pioneers in India who got Internet. It is an asinine claim because there was none other at the time. As a part of the government structure, it had to. How does this translate in being a pioneer is beyond my comprehension. If Tata after acquiring VSNL did not retrench the staff, it was their biggest mistake. I am sorry to say but they have their minds stuck in the cobwebs of inefficiency. Make the people accountable for their lapses. I am sure that despite the higher tariff structure of their plans, it is worth it to invest in the same; at least better than BSNL.

Let us hope!

Discuss on: Sify Broadband, Tata Indicom, Airtel Broadband, Reliance Broadband, MTNL – BSNL Broadband, Dial Up, Others

This post was submitted by Dr. Abhishek Puri on the Broadband Blog on Techwhack.

Tags: Advertising, Airtel, Airtel Broadband, Broadband, BSNL, BSNL Broadband, Customer Support, India, Internet, Mobile, MTNL, Opera, privacy, Reliance, Reliance Broadband, Tata, Tata Indicom, Telecommunications India, VSNL