The True Value Of Hutch Prepaid

[vebk]

Thinking of switching over to Hutch prepaid from MTNL Dolphin (great plans but really sucky network signal in my house).

anyway, as I have always been bitter about, these companies usually have some sort of "access fee" or "processing fee" attached to recharge coupons which increase validity also. I have always wondered why it takes almost half the cost of the recharge to "process" the card.

anyway, more to the point, I made a table on what a Hutch prepaid actually costs you in terms of money out of your pocket every month. Here's the table:

http://img81.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hutchprepaidtwototalk8yw.jpg

As you can see the basic recharge of Rs. 400 offers slightly (almost negligibly) better call rates than the Rs. 350 recharge + two-to-talk, but since two-to-talk gets you 1500 free SMSes, the latter offers a much much better deal.

Even though the second plan + two-to-talk offers a much better deal, I don't need that many minutes, so will probably go for the Rs. 350 recharge + two-to-talk = Rs. 410 each month.

Makes Sense? What do other people recommend?

 

[prathapml]

All I will say is, Hutch Bangalore is amazing!I'm on pre-paid, and normally recharge for 550 rupees. Here's what I get:Validity: 45 daysTalktime: 399addl. talktime: +125 for non-F&F local numbersFree local SMS: 100 per day (3000 sms a month)And sometimes when I have to re-charge for 350, what I get is:Validity: 30 daysTalktime: 193addl. talktime: +125 for non-F&F local numbersFree local SMS: 100 per day (3000 sms a month)I dont know about STD rates, as all my calls are made locally. Calls to all GSM are at 0.99 rupees a minute. Landlines is at 2 rupees. Calls to 3 selected local F&F (friends & family) numbers is at 30 paise per minute.And if you dont have cash at end of month, just do a Chota recharge for 40 rupees, and extend validity by 10 days (costing 30 rupees). Which implies that with just 100 rupees you can run mobile for a month & have 3000 local SMSes.

 

[vebk]

Ahh I overlooked the whole fexi recharge (etopup) thing because I thought that etopup doesn't give you more validity.... anyway, assuming that you can use two-to-talk with etopup (and please tell me whether you can do this or not), here's a new table:

http://img96.imageshack.us/my.php?image=hutchprepaidtwototalk3gc.jpg

So the third plan (Rs. 331 etopup recharge + two-to-talk) makes the most sense to me, both in terms of minutes as well as the true call rate. So can I use two-to-talk with a Rs. 331 etopup recharge every month?

Oh and does anyone know whether one can get a custom number on Hutch prepaid? If you can how much does it cost, and how does one go about it?

Edit: Had made an arithmetic error. Have changed the link to the correct table.

 

[prathapml]

Custom number?Or do you mean private number (undisclosed)?In bangalore, we just go to the nearest Hutch Shop, ask for a new pre-paid, the assistant then brings out about 30 envelopes, with different phone numbers written on it. We then choose the number that seems most easy to remember, and walk out 2 minutes later with a new mobile number of our choice.

 

[vebk]

I mean as in if you want a particular number to match your birthdate or something more memorable... say if you wanted 9811007007.

 

[Sushubh]

i think they do let u choose the last 3-4 digits of the newly purchased number if you so desire.

 

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[max]

wow...mumbai subscribers dont have any choices do we? And the call rates here are much higher 1.99 to any phone ( std.330 recharge ) and no free SMSes. 1.5 bucks per SMS local!

 

[smartbuddy_82]

Mumbai people are rich, no free sms's, high call rates, less talktime and also 1.50/local sms... :angry:Commerical capital of India, so mumbaikar's are milked to the last drop by all mobile companies....

 

[viralbug]

yes we mumbaikars have to face higher rates. just look at the bangalore rates, they are so awesome!

 

[max]

I'm mostly switching to reliance...

 

[aniketvb]

This is so unfair..Even IDEA Maharashtra circle has attractive schemes going on all the time.When Orange was offering 150 talktime on 330 refill, they were getting around 200-220 , plus less call rates.Now its good that they have effectively merged the two circles, so we can use IDEA cards in Mumbai freely...I think . I ll get my cousin from Aurangabad to try that .

 

[viralbug]

QUOTE(max @ May 30 2006, 08:00 PM) [snapback]52713[/snapback]
I'm mostly switching to reliance...
[/b]
I'm thinking of doing just the opposite, trying to switch over to hutch.
Main reason is that reliance dont have good cell phones with good features, but they do have decent call rates and compared to others its cheaper. But many of my friends have hutch so thinking to switch over too.

 

[max]

QUOTE(aniketvb @ May 30 2006, 08:41 PM) [snapback]52721[/snapback]
This is so unfair..Even IDEA Maharashtra circle has attractive schemes going on all the time.
When Orange was offering 150 talktime on 330 refill, they were getting around 200-220 , plus less call rates.
Now its good that they have effectively merged the two circles, so we can use IDEA cards in Mumbai freely...I think . I ll get my cousin from Aurangabad to try that .
[/b]

Idea is available in Mumbai? :blink:

QUOTE(viralbug @ May 30 2006, 10:58 PM) [snapback]52734[/snapback]
I'm thinking of doing just the opposite, trying to switch over to hutch.
Main reason is that reliance dont have good cell phones with good features, but they do have decent call rates and compared to others its cheaper. But many of my friends have hutch so thinking to switch over too.
[/b]

No no...dont do that... Dont fall into the Hutch trap. Their network is PATHETIC for indoor usage. I've to f*cking put my head outside the window to speak... My mum has a reliance handset and she gets such a strong network even in very closed spaces where no other network is able to reach! BTW whats your opinion about the reliance network? Which handset have you used? I am thinking of using the Nokia 2255 or Kyocera SE47 slider? Do you have any friends who used these handsets or know about them? Which plan did you use? My needs are about 200 minutes + 50 SMSes of talk. My per month bill shouldn't go above 300 bucks ( tax included ). Which plan would you recommend??

 

[waterloo_sunset]

It's quite the opposite for me. I use both Hutch and Reliance connections and so far i've never had to call the Hutch CC even once . Their network coverage here is really good and almost foolproof . With Reliance on the other hand although the voice clarity is slight better than Hutch but where i stay, they're having a lot of network problems with calls not materialising, wild signal fluctuations, constantly going in and out of service area, incoming calls not going through and handsets hanging n stuff. We were told that this is due to congestion and an extra tower is being put up to cope with it. That was 4 months back. Many ppl are surrendering their connections out of sheer frustration and the company is having to reimburse them. It works perfectly in other parts of the city though. So yea, it makes sense to go for the connection which works best in ur area.

 

[max]

haha believe it or not, i have the same problems with hutch in my area!