Can MTNL ring in new pre-paid era?
NetScribes/Sunil Joshi The next round of the much-talked-about cellular war in Bombay is set to take place in the pre-paid segment. And all eyes are now on MTNL, who, with the launch of its Dolphin cellular service, recently triggered a frenzied tariff cut of almost 50 per cent by rivals BPL Mobile and Orange. This time, though, competition has its strategy neatly charted out. BPL Mobile and Orange have already thrown the gauntlet at MTNL by aggressively marketing their respective pre-paid cards – MOTS and Just-Talk. Although the companies refuse to admit it, what they are actually doing this — highlight Dolphin’s obvious inability to match them. Dolphin’s pre-paid service has yet to be launched. Apparently so as it is still working out a tariff structure. Industry sources, however, point to more basic problems related to technology. Given these delays and details, can MTNL take up the challenge? “We will be launching the service in a month or two. We hope to launch it with our roamin
