Jio vs Airtel, Vodafone, Airtel and Idea: Ever since Reliance Jio announced its plans in India, there has been an interesting tariff war among telecom companies, where many of the rivals like Airtel and Vodafone have accused it of disrupting the market. While Jio offered its calling and data services for free earlier, both the ‘Welcome Offer’ and ‘Happy New Year’ have now ended. This means, now consumers of Jio network will have to pay for the data services in order to avail the offers. However, the calling will remain free forever, according to Reliance Jio. Reliance Jio’s Happy New Year offer will end on March 31, and along with it, the freebies will end too. To soften the blow, Reliance Jio had rolled out its Jio Prime membership plan from March 1. Notably, the Prime membership plan is an extension of the ‘Happy New Year’ plan itself.
Meanwhile, after March 31, users will not get everything for free. In order to continue using the previous ‘Happy New Year’ offer, Jio users will have to pay a subscription fee of Rs 99. Additionally, they will have to shell out Rs 303 every month to continue accessing Jio’s 4G services and also the full bouquet of Jio’s media services for one year. Similar to the previous ‘Happy New Year’ offer, the Prime membership too will provide users with a FUP limit of 1GB data for each day. Effectively it translates to 30GB data for a month, meaning Rs 10 per day. The last date for enrolling into the Jio Prime membership programme is March 31. A consumer who still does not have a Jio connection can get on the network on or before March 31 in order to avail the Prime membership offer. Standing true to its promise, Jio has said that the voice calling feature will always be free on Jio. Meanwhile, in order to compete, rivals Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea have also announced several offers.
Here’s a look at the new postpaid and prepaid tariffs for Jio Prime members:
Prepaid
Rs 19 plan: Prime members- Gives users access to 200MB 4G data apart from free voice, SMS and Jio apps subscription. Non-Prime members- offers 100MB 4G data. Validity – One day.
Rs 49 plan: Prime members- it offers 600MB 4G data; Non-Prime member- 300MB. Validity – three days.
Rs 96 plan: Prime members- offers unlimited data, 7GB data available at 4G speed and FUP is 1GB per day. Non-Prime members: Same thing, except the FUP, is 0.6GB per day. FUP is basically a cap on bandwidth, known as Fair Use Policy. Validity: 7 days.
Rs 149 plan: Prime Members- 2GB data, all at 4G speed. 100 SMSes. Non-Prime members- 1GB. Validity 28 days.
Rs 303 plan: Prime members- get unlimited data, while 28GB available at 4G speeds. FUP in this is 1GB per day. Non-Prime members- get 2.5GB data with no FUP. Validity – 28 days.
Rs 499 plan: Prime members- gives access to unlimited data, where 56GB can be used at 4G speeds. FUP is 2GB per day. Non-Prime members get 5GB data with no FUP. Validity – 28 days.
Rs 999 plan: Prime members: It offers unlimited data, where 60GB is available at 4G speeds, validity- 60 days. Non-Prime members: total 12.5GB data, validity 30 days.
Rs 1999 plan: Prime members: It offers unlimited data, where 125GB is available at 4G speeds, Validity – 90 days. Non-Prime members: get access to 30GB data, validity- 30 days. No FUP.
Rs 4999 plan: Prime members: It offers unlimited data, where 350GB is available at 4G speeds; validity-180 days. Non-Prime members: Get access to a total of 100GB data, validity- 30 days. No FUP.
Rs 9999 plan: Prime members: It offers unlimited data, where 750GB is available at 4G speeds, validity- 360 days. Non-Prime members: get access to a total of 200GB data, valid for 30 days. No FUP.
Postpaid
Rs 303 plan: Prime members- Unlimited data, where 28GB is available at 4G speeds. FUP is 1GB per day. Non-Prime members: 2.5GB data.
Rs 499 plan: Prime members- Unlimited data, where 56GB is available at 4G speeds. FUP is 2GB per day. Non-Prime members: 5GB data without FUP. Validity- till bill cycle expires.
Rs 999 plan: Prime members- Unlimited data, where 60GB is available at 4G speeds. Non-Prime members: 12.5GB data without FUP. Validity- till bill cycle expires.
Booster packs:
Reliance Jio has also brought some Booster packs for users in case their data limit ends suddenly. Using these, they can add data and continue using the web.
Prepaid:
In the Booster pack, you will have the option of choosing from Rs 51 which offers 1GB 4G data; Rs 91 which gives you 2GB data; Rs 201 offers 5GB data and Rs. 301 gives the user 10GB data.
Post Paid:
Here the booster packs begin at Rs 52 which gives you 1GB data and goes till Rs 301 for 10GB data. Meanwhile, Rs 91 and Rs 201 booster packs offer 2GB and 5GB data respectively.
Airtel: India’s largest telecom service provider said on Thursday that it will acquire rival Telenor India, which might open up more opportunities for the company. As of now, it provides 30GB of 4G data at Rs 1,495 for a period of three months. If you do not have an Airtel connection and wish to shift to its 4G service, by paying Rs 9,000 for 12 months. Additionally, there is an option of 3GB data at a price of Rs 345. The pack offers free calls to any network in the country and 4GB data (1GB regular pack benefit and 3GB free data). For postpaid users, you can get free 3 GB data per month with all MyPlan Infinity Plans. The Rs 549 Infinity plan will be offering unlimited calling and also 6GB data per month including the 3GB free data plan. The regular plan includes free voice calling (Local + STD), free SMS and subscriptions to Wynk Music and Wynk Movies. Customers need to access the MyAirtel App to avail the offer.
Vodafone: It is offering 6GB data per month for Rs 349, along with unlimited voice calls. In another new offer, any user who buys the 1GB data pack for Rs 250, will now get 4GB data with a validity of 28 days. Additionally, Vodafone will also give 22GB of data when you recharge your number with Rs 999. For that price, earlier customers could get only 10GB of 4G data. This new offer can be availed in all regions where the company offers its 4G services. The data pack which offers four times the usual value can be availed through online media and also local retailer recharges. The other offers by Vodafone are Rs 350 for 6GB data, Rs 450 for 9GB data, Rs 15,00 for 35GB data. While the four-time increase is not for all the offers, but the Rs 250 one.
Idea Cellular: It is not sure how the possible merger with Vodafone will pan out for the company, yet it is trying its best to match up to the prices currently. It is offering 1GB data per month for Rs 348, along with unlimited calling feature. If you recharge with this pack on a new 4G-enabled handset, you will get additional 3GB data. The validity for the pack is 28 days and can be availed for a maximum of 13 recharges in 365 days. There is a Rs 499 rental plan for postpaid subscribers too, which will give users unlimited local, national and incoming roaming calls with 3GB free data. Recently, Idea in a new advertisement campaign took a jibe at Reliance Jio’s offering of 4G services. In the latest ad, Idea has mocked the Mukesh Ambani-owned network providing service and called out to people against using freebies and asked them to choose Idea 4G instead.
