Barely a week after the Dishnet launch, Satyam decided to react to competition by coming out with more flexible schemes such as the 250-hour internet connection and reducing the price of the 100 and 500 hour connection.

The Discover250 introduced on Thursday is a new addition to its existing range of Discover25, Discover500 and Venture500. The Discover250 or 250 hours of connection is priced at Rs 6,000. The price tag of its 100-hour internet connection which was priced at Rs 3,900 will now be available at Rs 3,300, inclusive of the one-time registration fee and the Discover500 priced at Rs 9,900 will now be madeavailable at Rs 8,900.

Taking a leaf from the VSNL book, the renewal rates have also been revised. (VSNL recently brought down renewal rates from Rs 3,300 to Rs 2,550 for 100 hours.) Now Satyam's Discover100 can be renewed at Rs 2,600, Discover250 at Rs 5,600 and Discover500 at Rs 8,400. Retail outlets nation-wide will make the range available, apart from doorstep delivery through sales partners.

Earlier Satyam had priced its products steeply in the hope that the nature of services provided would tempt the customer to opt for the same. Satyam officials had maintained that its services were far superior to those offered by VSNL, the largest existing competitor, and therefore a premium on price was warranted.

However, with VSNL toning up its services, the level of customer satisfaction went up, gauging the response from the individuals who have opted for renewals with it, according to VSNL official. With Dishnet also offering good services at very competitive rates, a lowering of service costs by Satyamwas in order.

Dishnet launched its internet service last week and it is already providing services in Pune, where it charges subscribers Rs 10 per hour.

Under Dishnet's scheme, a subscriber has to pay Rs 3,300 for dailiy browsing of one hour for five hours. The Dishnet strategy appears to be aimed at getting the widest possible internet subscriber base. Once the subscriber base is in place, the company hopes to generate income by offering advertisers and others who wish to reach out.