Prepaid service--SPEED not reliable. Review on Orange Mobile Operator

I have used several cell phone and have tried, experimented and tested the services of many providers, including those running on GSM, TDMA and even CDMA. I hope this qualifies me to comment on Essar's service. I spent the last week of the year 2000 in the northern states of India. I arrived in Varanasi and quickly hopped to the nearest cell-phone ''outlet'' and asked the guy to install the best pre-paid plan. He suggested Essar's SPEED.

Now, Varanasi is among the oldest cities on earth, still surviving, but Essar's network, although relatively new is crumbling. No sooner did I make the first call, I lost Rs.20 just for dialing the number. The plan was Rs. 4.80 per minute for incoming and outgoing...but no I lost Rs. 19.20 you can actually tell because Essar's Speed card displays the balance on the LCD screen.

Obviously, northern India, especially Varanasi does not have big metros surrounding it, albeit the network was on in the adjoining towns...but the highways were not covered.

We reached small towns outside of Varanasi, there the network was fine. But each time you dial a number, Essar deducts money. Lemme explain how! Now, we all know that the billing actually starts when the circuit is complete. I mean you only pay when the party on both the sides are connected, but hey that's not what our friends at Essar think. They charged me even for the non-answered phone calls...even if it was just the ring ring and no answer. Peculiar and queer. I protested. I called their helpdesk. They admitted it was a problem. This guy said he could not credit my account since his system does not allow him to view pre-paid card itemized bills. That's kind of primitive, don't you think so? Orange and BPL can trace and pick out every single call you've made. He suggested that I go to one of Essar's service center in Kanpur or Lucknow hahaha both these places were about 250 kms from where I was using Essar.

When I returned Bombay, I filled an on-line feedback form on Essar's website...ooops, till date, no response...not even an acknowledgement. Oh boy, do we really want to deal with people whose networks are not stable.i Whose billing is shaky. Whose customer service is indifferent and few. Anyway, I guess you don't have much choice until VSNL, BSNL and other operators also start their service in these circles. Till then, Essar will definitely SPEED your bills.