A new ad for MTC Touch about their “Friends and Family” service is all over the radio stations now. This new service allows prepaid users to select 2 of their most dialed numbers and call them at 30% less.
That means if you were to fully use the $25 card (which actually gives you $22.73) to call your 2 preferred number, you’ll be able to speak 90 minutes instead of 63 minutes. ($22.73 / ($0.36 * 70%) = 90 minutes)
However, what wasn’t advertised is that this service actually has a cost of $3! And they probably did it that way in order not to allow everyone to benefit from this offer.
Anyway, this means you now can’t subscribe to this service unless you speak a minimum number of minutes with your 2 preferred numbers that are enough to cover the service fee and then start saving money on your remaining calls, so let’s calculate this minimum amount.
Let “T” be that amount, then: $0.36 T * 30% = $3 –> T = 27.7, i.e 28 minutes.
And of course if you were to fully use your card to call your preferred number, the total number of minutes drops to 78 instead of 90. That means the decrease is in fact 23.6% instead of 30%!
Couldn’t they have just advertised a decrease of 20-25% instead of playing smart on their customers?
Update:
Alfa (The second mobile operator in Lebanon) turned out to have launched the same service and is advertising for it as well, with the same fee.
Still, to be fair with the two companies, I have to mention that MTC Touch and Alfa JUST manage the two mobile networks, and to my knowledge do not any control over the rates or the offered services and their fees, it is actually the ministry of telecommunication that controls all of that.
Its alfa, not MTC?
MTC’s new service is Samme3ni
@Rabih
It’s MTC actually, here’s the service page on their website http://is.gd/k9Uq7
And true, they have 2 new ads now, one for Samme3ni and the other for the Friends and Family service.
Oh, I didnt know about MTC, but alfa also launched this new service; same 30 %!
7aramiye, min zamen, ba3doun w ra7 ydalloun.
If you think this is deception, you should learn about the interest rates on loans..and bank investments lol
That’s really scrooge behavior from people who charge so much. In Europe you have plans where you can talk freely as much as you like to one (or more?) numbers of your liking.
It is always good to share the innovative ideas with others on our demand.That is the main way for the people to know about the useful types of techniques to equip it. It will really gives the crucial moments for others to know about it. It is a useful passion for the people to select the beneficial categories of the stories on the requirements of using it…
Wow, too many numbers for me. But yeah, no matter what the case, I’ll stick to texting it seems!
They’re always finding new services to make us pay more!!
see that’s what i’m talking about people! thanks Rami for the calculations.
Alfa launched the same service as well, robbers !
Rami,
Just to clear things up. Yes the ministry of telecom controls the prices but not to the extent everybody thinks.Here is an example why: We pay 11 cents a minute. out of these 11 cents, 6 cents go to the Ministry of Finance as Taxes and 5 Cents go to the Ministry of Telecom which in return pays MTC and ALFA. So the 5 cents chunk is what the Ministry of Telecom controls.
Like Joseph said, both companies MTC and ALFA cannot change anything in the prices of their services without getting the approval of the ministry of telecom… and since companies are owned by the government this is why the minutes and sms rates are the same for both MTC and ALFA. this is why there will never be a real competition between the 2 operators and why in lebanon we pay so much and get a very lousy service. the managing companies of MTC and ALFA get like a salary from the government and some small incentives were introduced when the contracts were renewed when gibran bassil was the minister. in the end, heyda lebnen!!! we always have 2 choices between the bad and the worst… this is the formula that they made the people believe is the only solution for this wannabe state
Phone calls are free in the US, after 9pm, and in the weekends.
Try to beat that
Hello hope ur gd.
Am using ur article in one of my projects but i seem to have one problem regarding ur calcul of the 23.6%.
If it doesn’t bother u could u please explain to me how u came up wiz it cause my answer is 19.2% :/:/
Thank u ^.^
Here you go
100*(78-63)/63