FAQ
Choosing the right Calling India plan
What are the different types of calling India plans that are available by various providers?
Different providers like Relianceglobalcall, airtelcallhome, trueroots, pingo etc. structure their calling India plans differently based on different user needs. Some calling India plans are suited for short term use (like people travelling to US for few days/months) where as some for users who need on a regular basis (for many months even years). Different features like validity of the plan, cost per minute, initiation fees, administration fees etc. in calling India plans are structured differently. Depending on which all features are applied by calling India companies, the final cost to users would be different. While it is difficult to give information on all kinds of calling India plans, some of the popular types of plans include:
- Cost in cents/minutes vs. usage: Some plans keep the cents/minute cost constant irrespective of number of minutes used (Plan A and Plan B in the below graph) in a month whereas some have a threshold set at a particular usage which leads to a higher cost with after certain usage of minutes per month (Plan C in the below graph).
- Cost in dollars vs. number of days: Another important feature that is often used by providers like Airtelcallhome, Indiald, Truroots etc. is the number of days for which the plan is valid. Some plans give limited or unlimited talk time but need to be recharged monthly (Plan A and Plan B respectively in the below table). Other plans provide different talk time for a set number of days (Plan C in the below table). There are some plans which do not have any expiration but give less talk time (Plan D in the below table)
- Different destination different rates. Some India calling plans are suitable only for certain locations like only India mobile, Gujarat, North India etc. When users dial to locations outside of these destinations then the cost per minute is significantly higher.
- Adding different fees in addition to talk time fees: While on the decline, still some providers follow the practice of adding different types of fees along with the normal usage fees. Some of the fees that are added:
Connection fees: Every time a user makes a call to India, a connection fees is added. The cost of making a call would then be equal to (number of call minutes)x(price in cents/minute) + connection fees.
Rounding minutes: Some plans increases the number of minutes for which the user is charged. Instead of 1 minute billing, some plans do rounding at 3/5/8 minutes. This increases the number of call minutes and hence the cost of each call to India. There are some plans which even do rounding at 1 second level also.
Maintenance charges: Some plans keep charging certain fees just to maintain your account.
Administration fees: These fees are still highly prevalent and are applied by calling India service provider as one time fees during the purchase of the plan.
By applying different combination of above type of fees, calling India service provider create different types of plans.
| Validity | Number of minutes available | Cost (USD) | |
| Plan A | 30 | 600 | 10 |
| Plan B | 30 | Unlimited | 20 |
| Plan C | 45 | 800 | 12 |
| Plan D | No Expiration | 500 | 10 |
| Cost for destination A (cents/min) | Cost for all destinations except destination B (cents/min) | |
| Plan A | 2 | 5 |
| Plan B | 3 | 3 |
| Plan C | 4 | 2 |
How do I know which plan is better for me?
With so many different Calling India plans available in the market, it is a tough for users to make out which plan is most suited.
- Many times the cost structure is hidden in fine details.
- Advertising claims different cost to the user than the actual cost to the user.
- It is very difficult for users to figure out the best plan which covers all their needs and at the same time provides the greatest value.
- There is no user feedback which would provide information on the quality of the plan.
- It is very difficult to compare calling India plans from one provider with another due to no set industry terminology and cost structure.
It is these issues which led to the conceptualization of Taraazu.com. The objective of Taraazu.com is to provide simple, unbiased and easy tool in the hands of users to find the right plans for them. The principles with which the site has been constructed are:
- It should be super easy for users to find the best plans for their needs.
- It should be able to provide a platform for users to provide their unbiased feedback (positive or negative).
- One place destination for all the current deals from different providers.
How does Taraazu.com calculate the final cost for my calling needs to India?
- Taraazu.com looks into the key aspects of your calling India needs like destination, average talk time per call, frequency of calls, duration for which plans is required.
- Based on these inputs Taraazu.com deduces the usage pattern for your needs.
- Taraazu.com also maintains and indexes Calling India plans from various providers taking into account various cost structures and features.
- Taraazu.com has built a plan cost calculator which then matches user requirements with each plan and recommends the plan that would be most suitable for user needs.
Is it free to use Taraazu.com?
Yes, Taraazu.com is absolutely free for you to use. Taraazu.com does not sell any products or services on its site. Its objective is to provide uncluttered, unbiased and easy to digest information to users for their calling India needs.