The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : BSNL bundle to lower price of basic cell phones

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 30, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

BSNL bundle to lower price of basic cell phones

M. Dinesh Varma

CHENNAI: The entry-level price for mobile phone devices is set to dip further in Chennai, with BSNL, Chennai Telephones tying up with an Indian handset manufacturer to roll out an integrated bundle offer for prepaid subscribers.

To be launched in Chennai on Saturday — and gradually replicated across the State — the BSNL-Digibee Microsystem bundle offer provides the GSM colour display and FM radio-enabled handsets for Rs.1,499.

The unique selling proposition is that the customer who buys G 200 CF also gets a free talk value of Rs.1,499.

Set on a par with the equivalent of the sale price of the instrument, the free talk value will be apportioned equally (in units of Rs.100 each) over a 15-month lock-in period when the SIM can be used only for the BSNL starter connection.

“In a sense, the instrument is going for free as its price has been scored off against the free talk value,” said Mahantesh Patil, co-founder and vice-president of Digibee Microsystems, Bangalore-based handset manufacturer.

Encrypted text messages that are password-protected are a distinguishing feature of the slim phone that weighs just 68 gm.

However, the BSNL prefers to evaluate the response before going to town with the new scheme and the initial indent has been restricted to 2,000 prepaid SIM cards.

According to BSNL officials, the starter pack will have initial talk value of Rs.100 with a validity for 30 days.

Subsequently, the subscriber will have to recharge with a minimum Rs.100 coupon to enjoy the full talk value benefit.

After the 15-month lock-in period, the connection will convert automatically to prepaid general category.

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