4G Price War Starts With Telenor Announcing 100 MB for Rs 11; Reliance Jio Beats BSNL In Cell Towers Installed

4G wave is actually sweeping India right now: We have already reported how the onslaught of faster 4G services have compelled Micromax and Intex to quit 2G handset market; how 4G handsets have become the hottest selling smartphones right now; and how enemies are turning into pals to increase their 4G reach and impact.

Even taxis are being launched with default 4G connection!

And now, Telenor has initiated 4G pricing war with the launch of ultra affordable packs starting with Rs 11 for 100 MB data and Rs 22 for 250 MB data with a validity of 1 day. These new, super cheap prices were announced by Telenor while launching their first ever 4G network in India at Varanasi, riding on 1800 MHz spectrum.

To entice first time users, 1GB pack has been priced at 149, while 2 GB is priced at Rs 219 with 28 days validity.

Interestingly, Telenor doesn’t provide 3G services, and this is direct jump from 2G to 3G for them. With this, they have joined Vodafone, Idea & Airtel. BSNL is expected to launch their 4G services by end of the year, and Reliance Jio may start 4G at any time now.

Last year in December, shipments of 4G smartphones officially overtook 3G/2G handsets for the first time, and in the coming days, more and more 4G handsets are expected to be sold.

Reliance Jio Beats BSNL In Cell Tower Installation

In yet another coup, Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio has beaten BSNL, along with Aircel and Reliance Communication (led by Anil Ambani) in installing the maximum number of cell towers in India.

Last month, Reliance Jio had successfully installed 1.2 lakh cell towers, which is same as that of BSNL; And by now, they have overtaken them to become India’s 4th largest telecom firm when it comes to number of cell towers being installed.

Airtel is the #1 player in this niche, followed by Idea and Vodafone.

The most fascinating thing is that, Reliance Jio hasn’t yet got a single customer (apart from their own employees), as their much hyped and anticipated 4G services hasn’t yet launched. It is being expected that Reliance will announce the launch on Holi (March 24th) and the services would be formally launched from April 1st.

Reliance Jio is right now offering their 4g services only for their employees, and their own in-house branded smartphone LYF, which is 4G enabled is already for sale.

It seems that Reliance Jio is right now making sure that their network coverage is top class, and this is the reason they have intensified their focus on erecting maximum number of cell towers for a seamless 4G experience across India.