5
ways to cut your mobile phone bill
Customising
tariff plans, opting for special packs and using free applications can help you
shave off some costs on your mobile phone, Here’s how.
1 Check your monthly bills
The first step is to examine the itemised bills for the past six months. This will help you know who you call most often and how frequently you send messages. Chart your call and messaging expenses according to usage: local, national and international. Do you mostly make local calls or STD ones? What is the duration of your ISD calls and how much are you paying for each minute? Also note down how often you travel and how much you are paying while roaming. Have you subscribed to a GPRS plan? Do you stay within the limit or cross it and pay more? This exercise will also help you keep track of any unauthorised usage and wrong billing. If there is a mistake, contact your service provider immediately. You may not be able to claim compensation for a 6-month-old bill, but at least a red flag will stop further misuse.
2
Choose a customised tariff plan
Telecom companies update tariff plans regularly, so visit your service provider’s branch or website to check out the latest offerings. Then choose one according to your usage. If your outstation bill is higher than the local one, opt for a plan where STD calls are 60 paise a minute or lower, even if local calls are charged more. However, if your calls are limited mostly to your city, pick a plan where the local calls are for 30-50 paise a minute, even if the STD calls are charged 1 a minute. There isn’t much difference between a prepaid plan and a postpaid one as you have to pay administrative costs in both the cases. Most people balk at choosing a postpaid plan because of the monthly rental, but these plans also offer a certain number of free calls and cheaper rates. For instance, both Airtel and Vodafone charge 1 per minute for local calls in case of prepaid plans, while postpaid plans have tariffs for local calls that range from 30-75 paise a minute.
Telecom companies update tariff plans regularly, so visit your service provider’s branch or website to check out the latest offerings. Then choose one according to your usage. If your outstation bill is higher than the local one, opt for a plan where STD calls are 60 paise a minute or lower, even if local calls are charged more. However, if your calls are limited mostly to your city, pick a plan where the local calls are for 30-50 paise a minute, even if the STD calls are charged 1 a minute. There isn’t much difference between a prepaid plan and a postpaid one as you have to pay administrative costs in both the cases. Most people balk at choosing a postpaid plan because of the monthly rental, but these plans also offer a certain number of free calls and cheaper rates. For instance, both Airtel and Vodafone charge 1 per minute for local calls in case of prepaid plans, while postpaid plans have tariffs for local calls that range from 30-75 paise a minute.
3
Get rid of inessential services
Going through your bill will also help you pinpoint if you’re being charged for unimportant services. You may have accidentally subscribed to a service, such as match scores, daily horoscope, weather information or caller tunes, that you may not need and for which you may be paying extra. Sometimes such services appear on the screen as trivial notifications and get activated with just an oblivious click of a button on the mobile phone. Discontinue these service options as they are hardly a priority. If you don’t check your mails on the phone regularly or need to use the Internet while on the move, get rid of your GPRS plan. There is no point in opting for the voicemail service too since your call log will clearly list a missed call, providing the same information for free.
Going through your bill will also help you pinpoint if you’re being charged for unimportant services. You may have accidentally subscribed to a service, such as match scores, daily horoscope, weather information or caller tunes, that you may not need and for which you may be paying extra. Sometimes such services appear on the screen as trivial notifications and get activated with just an oblivious click of a button on the mobile phone. Discontinue these service options as they are hardly a priority. If you don’t check your mails on the phone regularly or need to use the Internet while on the move, get rid of your GPRS plan. There is no point in opting for the voicemail service too since your call log will clearly list a missed call, providing the same information for free.
4
Use the Internet
If you’re an avid texter, there are various applications that you can use to send messages for free, and these will help cut down your messaging bills drastically. You can check out WhatsApp, Nimbuzz and ChatOn. These apps require a GPRS or 3G connection and most of them can be used both for smartphones and feature phones. You can even use these apps to conduct group chats as well as send files of up to 100 MB. A few apps like Skype and Fring are useful for making free international calls. Of course, you will need to pay for a connection, but it will be much cheaper than a regular text or call. For instance, Airtel’s GPRS plans start from 198 for 2 GB of usage, while Idea charges 250 for 1 GB of usage. A 500-word text file is approximately 10 kb, a call is about 1 MB per minute, and a video call is around 2.25 MB per minute. So, a 1 GB plan will allow you 1,000 call minutes. The same for a postpaid plan, where calls are charged 50 paise a minute, will cost you 500.
If you’re an avid texter, there are various applications that you can use to send messages for free, and these will help cut down your messaging bills drastically. You can check out WhatsApp, Nimbuzz and ChatOn. These apps require a GPRS or 3G connection and most of them can be used both for smartphones and feature phones. You can even use these apps to conduct group chats as well as send files of up to 100 MB. A few apps like Skype and Fring are useful for making free international calls. Of course, you will need to pay for a connection, but it will be much cheaper than a regular text or call. For instance, Airtel’s GPRS plans start from 198 for 2 GB of usage, while Idea charges 250 for 1 GB of usage. A 500-word text file is approximately 10 kb, a call is about 1 MB per minute, and a video call is around 2.25 MB per minute. So, a 1 GB plan will allow you 1,000 call minutes. The same for a postpaid plan, where calls are charged 50 paise a minute, will cost you 500.
5
Opt for special plans
All service providers offer special tariff packs that are geared for specific usage. The most common ones are night plans, friends’ chat and STD/ISD packs. If your usage is limited to certain circles or people, such plans can be handy. You can opt for a prepaid plan where you don’t have to pay any monthly rental and the money is debited according to your usage, and then choose an additional plan. For instance, Reliance Communications has an SMS pack for 18, which allows you to send 50 free messages, local as well as national. Under a traditional plan, sending a local message will cost you 1, while a national one is for 1.50. Similarly, Airtel has a recharge coupon worth 10, which offers 100 call minutes between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. for two nights
All service providers offer special tariff packs that are geared for specific usage. The most common ones are night plans, friends’ chat and STD/ISD packs. If your usage is limited to certain circles or people, such plans can be handy. You can opt for a prepaid plan where you don’t have to pay any monthly rental and the money is debited according to your usage, and then choose an additional plan. For instance, Reliance Communications has an SMS pack for 18, which allows you to send 50 free messages, local as well as national. Under a traditional plan, sending a local message will cost you 1, while a national one is for 1.50. Similarly, Airtel has a recharge coupon worth 10, which offers 100 call minutes between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. for two nights
Ashna
Ambre and Namrata Dadwal.ETW120709
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