The company has also launched a person-to-person (P2P) messaging service, Post Me, which will enable all Spice pre-paid and post-paid customers to type and send messages via mobile phones. However, its competitor in Calcutta, Command has already introduced such service long ago. The Planet Spice portal, based on wireless Internet technology acquired from Nokia, will allow all Spice customers irrespective of all handsets to access a variety of information services from the Internet.

Developed in-house by the R&D team at Spice Telecom, this portal, a Diwali gift to Calcuttans, will be the one-point source of such information. The cost incurred to develop the portal, including platform and server, is around $1.5 million.

Launching the portal, Spice Cell's newly appointed chief operating officer, Mr Arun Kapoor said the Internet service will be provided initially free of charge to popularise the services. Asked how long the free services will continue, Mr Kapoor said: "We have no plans to charge in the next three months."

To start with, all Spice customers will be able to access nearly 30 information services. These information services will include local news, news on entertainment, lifestyle, travel, finance, and directory services. Within the next two-three weeks, it will cover 60-65 more such information topics and will eventually provide comprehensive information in over 150-service areas. The SMS platform on which the `Post Me service' is based has also been acquired from Nokia.