Addressing a press conference, company chief executive officer (CEO) Barry Cooney said: "This new pre-paid solution is a result of our constant endeavour to provide the best to our customers and at the same time project Calcutta as a leader in cellular telephony."

Targetting busy executives, travelling salesmen and the budget conscious youth, the cash-card facility promises to serve as a `value for money proposition', he said.

According to Cooney, Modi Telstra has been launching new products in line with improved technology and in-house research. "This new facility, which was developed in-house, has helped in savings for the company which would be passed on to the subscribers in terms of reduced airtime tariffs, ultimate convenience and further enable all segments of consumers to go cellular instantly."

Explaining the entire operation, company vice-presidentRajat Jain (marketing, strategy and business development) Modi Telstra said, "Subscribers now have the convenience of recharging their MobileNet cash cards at their discretion from their own mobile phones."

The new MobileNet Cashcard recharge coupons with an individualised PIN number will be available at more than 100 retail counters in the city. Customers can recharge the card at any time by dialling 777 from their mobile and thereafter enter the secret code to go on air once again. The entire process of recharging takes a few seconds only, said Jain.

The cash card will initially be available in two denominations of Rs 1,000 and Rs 3,000. According to Jain, the low in-house development will be passed on by MobileNet to its subscribers through attractively priced low air time rates of Rs 8.40 for outgoing calls and Rs 3.60 for incoming calls.

Value-added services like caller line identification, call hold, call wait and call conferencing come free with all connections. In addition to these, MobileNetalso offers its subscribers valuable information which comprises of a helpline --a 24 hour essential information service, cityline--providing instant information on over 30,000 products and services across 10 cities. Apart, it also provides travel-line on domestic and international travel assistance and cricket line, the latest scores if India's one-day matches.