2016 is going to be the year of high-speed internet in India. This year we will not only see the launch of much awaited Reliance Jio’s high-speed 4G and broadband services to the masses, but we are also hoping other leading telcos to follow suit.
We are also expecting our favourite state-run telecom operator BSNL to launch some affordable high-speed broadband plans (pun intended).
Reliance Jio is the only telecom operator having pan-India license for launching 4G services, making it the biggest 4G player in the country. RJIo has launched 4G for its employees, but it is yet to become available to the general public. According to the analysts, Reliance Jio will disrupt the 4G data market in India by offering very affordable 4G internet plans.
However, if you are in a hurry and want to try 4G now, then you would have to go for the services provided by Airtel, or Idea, or Vodafone depending upon your location.
We scoured the official websites of the incumbent 4G providers and are listing all the prepaid 4G data plans in this article.
Contents
Vodafone 4G Internet Plans
While looking for 4G data plans on Vodafone.in we found that Vodafone offers the maximum number of telecom circle of Karnataka. No other telecom circles has as many plans as Karnataka. So for the sake of comparison we will consider Vodafone 4G data plans in Karnataka only.
Vodafone is offering 4G data plans close to 3G tariff. The trial 4G pack is valid for 3 days and comes bundled with 120 MB data carrying a price tag of Rs. 29. The 1 GB 4G data pack costs Rs. 265 while the 2 GB plan costs Rs. 465.
Other unlimited (2G speed post FUP) 4G data plans are, 5 GB @ Rs. 855, 8 GB @ Rs. 1,145, 10 GB @ Rs. 1,345, and 20 GB @ Rs. 2,499. All plans come with a validity of 28 days.
Vodafone is also offering long-term plans for iPhone users which carry a validity of 24 months. These plans offer a good mix of 4G data, Local-National minutes and SMS.
| Plan Benefits (per month) | Price (Rs.) | Local-National Minutes | Local-National SMS | Data (GB) | Validity (days) |
| iPhone Recharge- 6K Plan | 30,060 | 6,000 | 1500 | 6 | 730 |
| iPhone Recharge- 10K Plan | 38,670 | 10,000 | 2,500 | 10 | 730 |
Idea Cellular 4G Internet Plans
Idea has its 4G network in more places than Vodafone as of now. It offers its high-speed 4G services in the telecom circle of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu & Chennai.
Idea is also offering its 4G internet plans at 3G data price along with 100% extra data. This extra data makes Idea 4G plans much more attractive than Vodafone and Bharti Airtel. However, as this extra data is available under a special offer, it won’t be available for long.
Its 1 GB 4G data plan costs Rs. 249 and comes with a validity of 28 days. On including the extra data it comes out to be 2 GB 4G data for Rs. 249 with a validity of 28 days.
Idea’s 10 GB 4G data plan (20 GB including extra data) is valid for 30 days and will cost you Rs. 1,346.
RCom 4G Data Plans
Reliance Communications has recently launched its 4G services in collaboration with Jio 4G aka Reliance Jio. RCom signed a spectrum sharing agreement with Jio wherein both the companies would use each other’s spectrum for offering 4G services to their subscribers.
So effectively both the telcos have access to 850 MHz (LTE Band #3), 1800 MHz (LTE Band #5), and 2300 MHz (LTE Band #40) spectrum for offering the next-generation 4G services.
RCom has announced its 4G data plans starting from Rs. 252 for 1 GB valid for 28 days. Other 4G data plans with higher volume are 2 GB @ Rs. 449, 3 GB @ Rs. 655, 5 GB @ Rs. 851, 7 GB @ Rs. 1,049, and 10 GB @ Rs. 1,349.
We performed a Speedtest of RCom 4G and found that it offers speeds similar to Jio 4G.
Airtel 4G Internet Plans
As of now, Airtel 4G has the maximum coverage area in the country and is operational in tens of big cities. You can visit Airtel and check if your city has Airtel 4G or not.
Unlike Idea and Vodafone which have similar pricing for their 4G packs across the country, Airtel 4G data packs vary greatly.
Airtel 4G data packs will cost you more dearly if you are in Northern part of the country than if you are residing in the Southern part of India. 10 GB 4G data plan will cost you Rs. 1,998 in the North but you can subscribe to the same pack for Rs. 1,347 in the South.
Airtel 4G Data Plans: Trivandrum
Airtel 4G 1 GB data costs Rs. 255 and comes with a validity of 28 days, while the 2 GB, 3 GB, and 4 GB packs costs Rs. 455, Rs. 655, and Rs. 755 in Amritsar. Other cities in Punjab and the nearby regions have similar 4G data pack offerings.
Airtel 4G Data Plans: Amritsar
Cities in Southern India have Airtel 4G data packs starting from 500 MB to 10 GB. Please check the screenshots for more info.
Telenor 4G Data Plans
Telenor India has recently launched its 4G network in Varanasi, UP East. It is offering very attractive 4G data plans with the trial packs starting from Rs. 11 (100 MB, 4p/20 KB post FUP).
Telenor’s 1 GB 4G data packs costs Rs. 149 and comes with additional benefits like 25p/min for local calls, and 30p/min for STD calls. The 2 GB data packs is available for Rs. 219. All plans above 1 GB come with additional benefits like free bundled minutes or reduced call rates. Check the screenshot for more information.
As of now, Idea Cellular is the most affordable 4G data provider, thanks to its double data plans. It works out to about Rs. 125 for 1GB. But it remains to be seen what these incumbent players would do, when Reliance Jio launches its 4G services.
In the meantime, you can try 4G mobile internet provided by any of the above mentioned operators and let us know your experience with them.
Header image Source: Shutterstock.com
I have ported my BSNL no (7588085036) to IDEA in Nov17, after 2 months of service my no has been deactivated without any prior warning. After inquiring about it we came to know that according to idea guys we have withstanding bill from BSNL, which in fact we dont. To prove them about nill account balance we have submitted NOC from BSNL stating that our account balance is nill and there is no withstanding bill on our side. We also submitted last payment bill copy of Rs 146 and Rs 35 along with a written application. It has been a month now i am still struggling to get my no activated. There customer service is pathetic. Dont even think about porting to idea.
I am using airtel since 1 year but i found most worst 4G speed experience in Airtel. There network engineering also useless in there work only miscomittment is There.
Hi Anand
thank you, sir, for the relevant information we were already confused about the different data plans but your article helped us a lot to go through the all the data plans and choose accordingly.
thankyou.
Which sim card best for network*& internet…???
By my idea vodafone sim is the best way of giving network throughout india
Reliance jio is best.reliance is giving 2.5 mb/s avg download speed in ahmedabad.In some area they are giving above 10 mb/s download speed.
airtel 4g is so good. speed is very good in delhi. i was use it from months past
I use Airtel 4G and it is worst: 1. The data exchausts super super fast when you buy smartbytes. I raised multiple complaints but all closed after 1 week without any action 2. Speeds are good in the range of 3-18 Mbps, and mostly 12-18 Mbps speed. 3. Data limit exhausts quickly due to high speed so you end up paying “Smarybytes”. Read point 1 again. 4. You can’t upgrade to higher plans easily if you are using router. 5. Routers are of very bad quality and warranty is a painful service. 6. WORST customer care. 7. Finally, this so called 4G is not costly from Airtel and is not worth.
Airtel customer service persons are the most dumbest people. They don’t put any effort to check the details or acknowledge the related issue. Rather they will say please check your balance at ***** number and call us back. Abe tum se na ho pa raha to bol do, fek denge sim, ye aiwe hi customer ko ghumate rehne ka notanki na karo…..
Even after charging highest premium in India, it can’t provide a good service, this clearly shows customer satisfaction is not it’s top most priority.
Kuwait to Netwerk 4g 3kD 100GB ?IND 1GB 250 RS kuwait 3kD to IND RS 660
what that 28 days mean. Does everything is in 28days cycle? now there are even 21days plan. early there were 30days meant for any month properly. why is this done, to make customer buy more and more packs.
Airtel 4G n/w is available only on Mount Everest , Siachen Glacier , in Thar desert and amazon Forest, not available in Cities like Bangalore ,,they show bullshit advertisements ,guys pls don’t buy ,they are cheating us
airtel 4g is not satisfactory in bangalore, dont believe in ads
Siegel 4G is a total fraud, even after paying a huge amount and after recharge it speed is 2G only which is of no use.
Bihar mei airtel 4Glanch kro
Airtel 4G WIFI hotspot is good speed but 5GB pack and unlimited speed very low
It’s pathetic experience on arrogance of sales people as if not interested and don’t care for customer.
[…] that the top 3 telecom operators, Airtel, Idea, and Vodafone have already launched their 4G networks and promoting it heavily. So naturally Reliance Communications doesn’t want to miss out on this […]
Whats the benefits of 4G at this high price rates?
Its like you are dropping a single drop of water into a huge tunnel.
3G rates are also the same.
These mobile operators got there calander wrong,
One month is not 28 days,
I decided not to use mobile internet untill the price become reasonable.
@JazDude – ha ha…. According to telecom companies,… One Month is = 28 days only. It is revolutionary invention from Indian Private companies. We all supported Privatization. Now we are enjoying it’s benefits. In 2017 – One Minute = 58 Seconds.
In 2020 – One Minute = 55 Seconds.
and
In 2017 – One Month = 27 Days.
In 2020 – One Month = 25 Days.
It is just a starter. More to come in upcoming days/years.
we can’t blame operators..it is govt policy. our govt policy . its our policy….more tax for govt through telecom… and indirectly it comes to us only…..so be happy to pay more…
I am staying Devasandra, KR Puram ,Bangalore . Idia(4G) have very very poor net work.
Inside the home no netowork (Signal: No Bar ) and out side home ( Signal : some time 1 bar ).
Request to Idea please look into this issue ASAP.
[…] […]
I stay in Mumbai and was one of the earlier buyer of airtel 4g mifi devices. My Vodafone 3g works better then airtel 4g. I a sure airtel does not have seamless Connectivity for 4g. Embarrassing.
Frankly speaking None of the operators not yet providing complete coverage for 3G services. AirTel’s 3G service is sucks in Bangalore. That also in popular place they can’t even provide proper EDGE connectivity. One of my friend lives near Bannerhatta in one apartment at 8th Floor. AirTel’s network can’t even reach at 8th Floor :(
Same way 3G hyped in 2013 and 2014. But see still we need to take our mobile phone and look for better tower in the street :( Instead of putting money on ADS they improve their network coverage. God save digital India plan.
I doubt even at 2020 users will suffer to get proper internet connection in India.
I am staying off banergatta road near maruti dental college airtel have very poor net work.connectivity every day at some part of day I do not get mobile and airtel hot spot connectivity. Airtel has to look into it seriously. I am sure airtel will loose big market. Vodafone has better connectivity.
Got the airtel 4g, near kumarswamy layout speed is worse getting 0.6 mbps (bits per sec) .. Even other networks 3g is way better 10 times than this.. Really embarrassing for airtel..
Airtel 4G LTE has a very bad speed and lot of connectivity issues. A normal 3G connection works much better. Airtel service and Billing is not very Transparent and they usually are not very co operative. More established companies and some competition will probably make these companies more responsive. I have actually requested for cancellation of my 4G services with Airtel.
Airtel sucks big time in Bangalore. Since last Oct’15 they don’t even have usable 2G signal ( for basic call and SMS ) in the IT/STP area of Bellandur/Sarjapur Road, Bangalore . Been complaining to their Appellate, CEO, COO and even Trai and its 6 months now and we been stuck with a useless service. Since then– we are told everytime to wait for 3 months for a new cell site
Totally hopeless and pathetic and uncoordinated customer service. And management too i feel.
Been one of my client and feel sad at the way they nose dived now.. True they spend a lot of money on marketing of LTE/4G etc.. Wish they focussed on providing basic 1980s era telephone calls and messaging at least.. Exploring alternatives and hopeful Jio or others maybe able to capitalise on this opportunity.
I live in Rajajinagar in BengaLuru. Seeing Airtel ads makes me laugh like crazy. I barely get 0.1-0.6 mbps (yes, it is that worst) in my home. I had better net from Aircel and Idea (though they are all pathetic). And Airtel calls drop left and right with lots of disturbance as well. Finally went out and got myself a JIO sim through a LYF phone and I am getting 3-10mbps in my home (Outside its 6-60mbps)! And all this FUP is unfair. It should be called fair only when they are providing at the very least 10GB limits (and that is just a fraction of what other countries get). I’d gladly pay premium amount every month for good call and net service.
Aires 4G tower installation lambakhera post lambakhera tehsil tanda suar rampur pn 24492up no 9876859400