This year too almost all the major players have come up with one package or the other.
For the average customer it becomes quite a task to really see what is being offered and which company is allowing the customers to benefit more. A brief synopsis of the packages on offer tries to deconstruct these packages for the benefit of customers.
With Ufone Ramzan offer, consumers are allowed to make free on-net calls from 3 AM to 7 PM throughout the month. Ufone’s Ramzan offer comes at a daily rental of Rs. 4+tax per day and customers can make calls to all Ufone numbers as well as millions of PTCL and Vfone numbers.
The package thus puts an offer for their customer that allows them to use the network on prime time hours. From 3 am to 7pm i.e., 16 hours of voice communication at just Rs 4 only for all prepaid customers. Extending this offer to PTCL and Vfone networks is certainly a plus – something no other cellular company could ever match.
Zong has also offered its package in this special month in which, it claims, consumers will be able to enjoy unlimited on-net calls for PKR 8.5+tax but only in LBC (Location Based) Cities. LBC factor makes the entire package somewhat selective as a large number of customers of the network have been left out of the package.
The package announced by Telenor TalkShawk deducts a Rs 14.99 plus tax or around Rs. 18 per day including taxes. With this package, TalkShawk 24 Hrs and TalkShawk Economy package subscribers can make unlimited calls all day long except 7 PM to 11 PM.
Mobilink offered Ramadan package for its Jazz customers, which allows 100 On-net Minutes, 500 All network SMS and 100 MB mobile internet from 11pm-7pm at a fixed daily rental of Rs. 14.99 plus tax. Mobilink said offer is valid till August 16th only.
‘Call your loved ones and light up their life’ seems to be the mantra of cellular operators this time again but clearly not everyone is passing on the juice to the customers. Compared to Rs. 4 of Ufone per day charges with Rs. 8.5 and Rs. 14.99 per day charges of Zong and Telenor seems notably high. While Mobilink is charging Rs. 14.99 for 100 on-net minutes, 500 SMS and 100 MB of Mobile internet.
Industry insiders claim that riding on these packages during Ramzan, telecom traffic usually remains much higher as compared to the rest of the months. The increase in volumes offsets any possible loss in revenues so other companies should also have come up with packages that can actually benefit the customers in real.
With these offers the cellular companies might be able to fetch higher traffic, but some of the offers, it seems, are focused more on creating marketing buzz alone instead of focusing on the needs of the end customers.
