Game changed - Uninor launches 'Discounted Dynamic Call rate' plan in UP East
Uninor is the first mobile operator to launch the concept in India. Discounts on a call can change from 5% to 60% by simply crossing a street. At 60% discount, you can call for as low as 20 paisa and never more than 50 paisa.
WITHIN WEEKS of launching its service in India, Uninor has introduced a radically new concept of ‘dynamic pricing’ that is likely to set a new trend in the pricing of mobile services in India. Branded as ‘24X7 Badalta Discount Plan (DP)’, it will offer customers changing discounts on their calls based on traffic on the network. The discounts will change with location and with time, with each cellphone tower broadcasting a different discount. At the same location, the discount will change on an hourly basis. By putting customers in control of costs, with 24X7 changing discount rates, this could very well change the tariff structure in Indian telecom. “Customers first and then technology that makes it happen. We make a strong demonstration of this guiding principle with the launch of dynamic pricing,” said Frode Haugen, EVP-UP East, Uninor. “With the Dynamic Pricing concept, customers will get much more involved in the way they use our service. It will make an otherwise routine activity exciting – every single time a customer picks up a phone to make a call,” added Frode. How does it work The discount available at any given time will be visible at all times on the screens of handsets that display cell broadcast. The discount visible on the screen at the time a customer calls will be the applicable discount for the call. A flash message will appear while making an outgoing local call illustrating prevailing discount & when the call ends, a flash will again appear on the phone screen indicating the actual discounted cost of the call. The dynamic discounts available at any given time will depend on network traffic and customers location at that time, providing customers maximum flexibility to choose between convenience and savings. “The 24X7 Badalta Discount Plan (DP) will not only help customers make significant savings on their bills, but also empower them by placing the power of tariffs in their hands. We will pass on our network capacity savings to our customers. With customers using our service more at locations and times that give best discounts, we will also be able to utilize our capacity better. It is a perfect model and I won’t be surprised if it soon becomes an industry practice.” said Rohit Chandra, Executive Vice-President, Operations. Sophisticated technology that puts the customer in controlDiscounts are calculated by a sophisticated ‘Discount Engine’ that relies on state-of-the-art IT systems to continuously monitor traffic at every tower in the network. For customers, this could literally mean discounts changing from, say 5% to 60%, just by crossing a street, as customers move into the coverage of another tower. Over a longer period, this would mean considerable savings on phone bills. Leaders, not followers The launch itself was the largest in terms of footprint in the world with the largest distribution by any operator on launch day. Bucking prevailing trends, the brand chose not to use superstar celebrities as ambassadors and did not follow the ‘1 paisa per second’ pricing norms. Instead, with the “24X7 Badalta Discount Plan (DP), Uninor has set an entirely new trend that is sure to become the new industry standard. “In a market this competitive, differentiation will be the key to success. We will do this by listening closely to our customers’ wishes and living our values of simplicity, respect, keeping promises and being inspiring. Our intent is long-term - to build Uninor as the preferred service in India,” added Frode.
 | Previous Post |
Login
 Login through Social ID
|
Not finding what you are looking for? Search here.
