Idea launches lifelong validity in post-paid too

Scripting a new chapter in the ongoing validity war, Idea Cellular on Wednesday launched a lifelong free incoming offer for its post-paid subscribers.

Under the new offering - "Lifelong" - the company has waived off its monthly rentals levied from users, making it the first Indian company to take validity battle to the post-paid turf.

The company's release said that it is offering the new scheme with a one-time payment of Rs 995, whereby post-paid customers will not have to pay any monthly rental for life.

For post-paid users, Idea's monthly rental varies across the various schemes it offers, with the lowest being Rs 99 for a month .

It will charge 99 paise per minute for mobile to mobile local calls, 99 paise per 30 seconds for other local and STD calls, it said.

Commenting on the launch, the Idea Cellular CEO Vikram Mehmi said, "With this offering, Idea has created a new paradigm in the mobile telephony market and we are confident that the Lifelong offer will further reinforce our promise of delivering the best value to our customers and make mobility more affordable."

Under the pre-paid lifelong tariff, the company will charge Rs 1.99 for calls for one minute, while STD calls would be charged Rs 2.99 paise per minute, it said.

On Tuesday, taking cue from GSM operators Airtel and Hutch and CDMA major Tata Teleservices (TTSL), Reliance Infocomm, MTNL as well as Idea had launched a lifetime pre-paid voucher. Tata had launched similar schemes earlier.