Urban poor to cut down on cellphone use

For her daily evening puja, Ghaziabad resident Reena Peshawar plays an online aarti. But now she’s debating whether she should cut back on some of that devotion or the makeup videos she watches since her monthly mobile prepaid plan has jumped from Rs 169 to Rs 249. “I just bought a new cellphone with my Diwali bonus and already I have to cut back,” says the 22-year-old domestic worker who earns Rs 6,000 a month.With Airtel , Vodafone and Jio increasing tariffs for prepaid plans, the urban poor, who get their fix of what digital anthropologist Payal Kapoor calls ABCD: Astrology, Bollywood, Cricket and Devotion, from their smartphones, are feeling the pinch. And the numbers of those affected aren’t small since prepaid accounts for 95% of Indian subscribers.Kiran Adhar, an East Delhi housewife, loves uploading videos of her toddler and lip-syncing to Bollywood songs. But the recent hike has dampened her enthusiasm. Adhar used to get her phone recharged for Rs 500 for 84 days which got her 2GB data. Now, for the same amount of data she would have to pay Rs 200 more.Rabita, a domestic worker, had started with an unlimited call and data plan and graduated to expenses of Rs 50 per month. This has shot up to Rs 98. “Earlier I could buy a couple of onions for Rs 10-Rs 15 in a week when we were making some non-vegetarian food at home but now I can’t even buy one onion for that amount. I can live without onions in my kitchen but not without my data plan,” she says. For security guards who have night duty or cabbies who have to wait between rides, the mobile is a much-needed source of entertainment.Kumar, a driver, watches Tamil films in between rides. “I can’t give up the phone. If my regular customers can’t call me, or I can’t check GPS, my work suffers. But I will have to cut down on whatever is unnecessary,” he said. He plans to restrict his wife’s phone now to a basic plan that allows only incoming calls. This has also increased from Rs 35 to Rs 49. But he knows there is no explaining this to his six-year-old daughter who has to get her daily fix of cartoons before going to bed.Migrant workers like M K Singh, a watchman, are having second thoughts about the long video calls they make to family members. “My family is back in UP’s Badaun. I used to make video calls to my parents in the village but I will have to be careful about my spending now. Rs 100 a month is a very large increase in expense that I can’t afford,” he says. Ranjit Mishra, who owns a shop in Mayur Vihar that charges mobiles, says most customers were unhappy. “People come and fight with me when I tell them the increased rates. Even a new connection costs more. Earlier you could get a SIM for Rs 495 but it is now available for Rs 647,” he adds.