Reliance has shattered Indian telecom market by offering unlimited voice and video calls, SMS and 4G data without a single penny. The Jio Preview Offer, Welcome Offer and now the Happy New Year Offer has severely affected the income of cellular service providers like Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel, BSNL, etc. This has forced all of them to announce new affordable recharge packs to save their customers from shifting to Jio.
Every telecom company starting from Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel and even the publicly owned BSNL have announced brand new schemes to take on Reliance Jio. Today we tell you about the latest and greatest plans of each of the cellular operators. Please note that most of these offers are not yet available all across India and their pricing may slightly vary from region to region.
Airtel
First, we begin with the largest cellular operator in India – Airtel. It has unveiled two new plans to compete with Reliance Jio. The cheaper of the two costs Rs. 145. It offers free unlimited calls to Local and National Airtel numbers along with 300 MB of 4G data.
The other plan is priced at Rs. 345 and brings along free unlimited local and STD calls to any network combined with 1 GB of 4G internet. Each of the plans has a validity of 28 days. The offers are also valid for feature phone users, but they will only get 50 MB of data in both the plans.
Vodafone
Vodafone is another leading telecom company in the country. To take on Reliance Jio, it has announced the double-data plan. In this offer, Vodafone will double up the internet limit in all of its 4G packs starting from Rs. 255. From now onwards, Vodafone-users will get 2 GB, 6 GB, 8 GB, 20 GB and 40 GB of high-speed 4G data for Rs. 255, Rs. 459, Rs. 559, Rs. 999 and Rs. 1,999 respectively.
Idea
Coming to Idea, it has also launched a couple of new plans to strive in the market. Their plans are eerily similar to that of Airtel’s. The first pack costs Rs. 148 and includes unlimited free calls to Local and National Idea numbers and 300 MB of 4G data. The second plan is priced at Rs. 348 and offers free unlimited calls to any network across India along with 1 GB 4G internet. Just like Airtel’s, these are also applicable for feature phone users; only the data limit will be capped to 50 MB in both the plans. The validity of each of the packages is 28 days.
Aircel
Aircel has gone more aggressive and announced the FRC 148 with a validity of 90 days. This means, by paying Rs. 148, you will get free unlimited local and STD Aircel to Aircel calls, 250 minutes Aircel to other network calls per 30 days, and 500 MB of 2G data for the first month. However, this plan may be available only to new customers in some areas.
Aircel also has another plan priced at Rs. 147. It will get you unlimited free Aircel to Aircel call (Local and National) along with 300 minutes of local and STD calls to other networks.
BSNL
BSNL, the state-owned telecom operator, is preparing to launch a Rs. 149 plan to combat with Reliance Jio. The upcoming plan is expected to feature free unlimited Local and STD calls along with 300 MB 3G data and 100 local and national SMS. The plan is presumed to be valid for 28 days or 30 days.
Conclusion
The advent of Reliance Jio has significantly changed India’s mobile market in short time. Its VoLTE call facility is the first in the country and the unlimited free voice and video calling feature may soon be adopted universally. The telecom providers shall only sell data to its customers. Jio’s free trial is actually benefiting the consumers who are experiencing massive cut in their monthly mobile recharge budget.
