Life without cellphone

While leaving India, I topuped my airtel cellphone with a huge amount so as it can be used in US during my initial days. It worked fine till London but there was no service in US. It was night when I landed Boston and I was desperate to call back home and inform everyone that I have reached. During initial few days, how handicapped I felt without my cellphone, it seemed like I have been cut-off from rest of the world. Things have really changed in last 5 yrs.
My brother got into B-school and he asked my dad, I need a cellphone it's kind of essential item for co-ordinating friends for project assignments, jobs and keep in touch with family and friends. Well, pat replied my father, if it helps in your career anyway, then go ahead.
This reminded me of my early childhood memories and few stories of my father when there were no telephone and the life still continued though slowly.
The first time I left home for a long period was when I went for studying XIIth at DPS Bokaro. My father gave me bunch of yellow coloured 15 paisa "postcards", blue colored 35 paisa "antardesi" and few "machli" walla stamps so as there is no excuse of not writing letters or not finding a postoffice. The day I reached Bokaro, I wrote a small letter that I have reached and things are fine at my end. Letter used to take around a week to reach my home provided there was no New Year nearby when postoffice used to be flooded with New Year cards. My father was very prompt and regular in writing letters so immediately he used to update of things in home and some motivation talk on studies so full circle used to be completed in 2 weeks.
In my college at NIT Jamshedpur we had a postman "Soyee jee". He was quiet old but very sharp memory and he used to remember all 1200 guys with their name and room number. I used to identify him through his gentle knock on the door that he is "Soyee jee" and has brought some letter for us. A registered post incurred a "tax" of 5 Rs. as it signified that I have got DD from my father for monthly expenditure. so even before I opened the letter there was deduction of 5 Rs. I used to patiently wait for letters from my friends and relatives and was a frequent writer as well. There were times when some friend informed that I have seen your letter at postoffice and I used to run to find out who has remembered me.
Where is those desperation in SMS and calls on my cellphone these days?
We got landline connection at home when I was in engg final yr. so before that it was all postcard and antardeshi. But life was not cool even after having landline connection at my father's place. Our college had 1 STD booth for 1200 students and other nearest booth was 2 km away so in a given day even 5% students plans for making call there was queue of 50-60 students. When you have a big queue where is the patience that people will give you a chance for several attempts. My home at Sabour was in outskirts of Bhagalpur city and whole town comprised of people either from Agriculture or Engineering college and I will say government really took time to bring phone over there and even when it came, a successful dial from other cities used to happen only after constant try for half an hour. Several futile attempts used to make me think better drop a letter.
I was about to pass from the college when 1st cyber cafe arrived in Jamshedpur and I heard they took around 60-70 Rs/hr, where was so much money and also I didn't had mail account. Just had read through media that you send a mail and it can be received even in US within seconds used to tickle my mind, how? :-)
After passing out from college, I joined TCS Mumbai when once in a bluemoon we used to see someone flashing his cellphone (as big as cordless) and talking very loudly so as to tell everyone nearby, hey I have got cellphone :-) Incoming/Outgoing charges in 1998 used to be a big amount and I didn't had any friend having one and infact it was one of the luxury items. Comes Friday and office phones were busy so where are we going this weekend, which place we are meeting and at what time? Somehow I feel we were more committed for the time during those days than now. May be we felt if I don't reach on time he/she is going to wait but now we damn care for the time as we have cell to inform that I am struck and will be late. Our meeting place used to be some important landmark so as there is no confusion and I don't rememeber that ever we returned back without finding ones friend.
These days you say "you give me a call when you reach that place and I will let you know where I am" :-) Once my cousin called me on one weekened and informed that there is Kolkata Book fair going on so let's go there and give me a call once you reach there and I will locate you guys. There was mad rush in kolkata book fair and cell signals were totally jammed. I made number of attempts and sometimes when it got connected the noise were so deafening that I couldn't hear where is she and sometimes it got disconnected while we just started. Had we decided earlier to meet at some Oxford stall and not been dependant on cell I am sure we would not had returned empty hand.
The real telecom revolution happened in India at early 2003 when incoming call charges were removed. That's when, I started seeing cellphones right from machi walla to auto walla. I was telling earlier that my brother in college got the cell and sent me 1st SMS that he got the cell connection and note down his number. Full two years there was full entertainment with SMS (forwarded jokes). Now he is in the job so no SMS. May be he too doesn't gets SMS from his friends.SMS has become life support system especially with student community. I too used to send loads of SMSes when there were incoming charges and fingers used to move tick tick tick as if I am working on keyboard. You are travelling in auto what to do? send a SMS, You are waiting outside movie hall what to do? send a SMS, You are eating kabab send a SMS and let your mom know about it :-) As outgoing charges got reduced the difference between outgoing calls and SMS decreased and I have almost left sending SMSes.
Now I have reached US and trying to get a cell connection and I am totally confused in choosing a carrier and a plan. After all those search, I firmly believe that India has far better options for consumers than US. Just go to a shop get sim card and topup no kich kich no jihg jhig :-)
Telecom industry in US more seems to be sellers market and options are very limited.
There is incoming charges during day time on weekdays and I am not sure why a consumer needs to pay for incoming charges when they have good infrastructure and market is already quiet matured. If a person comes to US for short term (6 months/1 yr) he doesn't have much options left other than pre-paid card whose rates are almost 5+ times high than a post paid connection. Contract of 2 yrs makes you think 100 times what you are going to do if you happen to leave US after 6 months/1 yr, pay hefty termination charges or pay monthly charges for 2 yrs even without using it. If you already have a cell which you brought from home country and even if it has same frequency as US it doesn't serves the purpose as one when gets a new cell with a plan of 2 yr. so old cell is good for keeping in bag and taking it back.If you enter a contract with one carrier and somehow you get transferred in an area where network is not so good or after few months you are unsatisfied with the carrier there is nothing you can do. Throw the locked cell and get a new connection with a different carrier.
Somehow, I think there would have been more growth and would had brought more benefits to customer if there were no incoming charges, no contract - month to month payment and for this may be charge for calls and cell would have been separated and pre-paid charges were low. Just to lock customers for 2 yrs., there is a contract and to promote post paid, pre-paid charges have been kept extremely high.
Is T,Verizon, Cingular,Sprint hearing grudges of one of his customer? If you think you are the best and have loyal customers who can stay with you for 2 yrs due to FANTASTIC customer service then someday just remove the contract and provide more flexibility to customers then see the fun of competition between different players.