For the most part, GPRS plans are priced at about 5-10p per 10 KB. This works out to Rs 5-10 per MB. The problem is both with the price and the concept of metering. What is needed is a flat-priced plan that is less than Rs 100 per month. Smartphones are capable of doing a lot, and most of these services require network access.
I checked my own data usage on the Nokia E71 in the past couple months – it comes to about 50 MB a month. This works out to an effective rate of Rs 2 / MB. (I’m probably paying Vodafone Rs 500 a month for that usage.)
New mobile operators have enough spectrum. What they need is people like me to switch based on the appeal of flat-priced data and bring along the voice business as well.
In addition, as I wrote last December, “A plan like this will encourage the use of the mobile Internet and other services, and create the necessary pull for companies to start building out mobile data services. Operators will benefit from large-scale adoption of data plans.”
