Jio shook the Indian telecom market by announcing Jio Prime subscription plans offering unlimited data and voice starting Rs. 303 per month. Airtel took to the offensive and launched their own unlimited calling plan @ Rs. 349 offering 14 GB data per month.
Now Vodafone and Idea have launched similar tariff plans priced around Rs. 350. These plans offer unlimited voice calls to any network in the country along with a certain high-speed data.
Idea Offers 14 GB 4G Data & Unlimited Calls @ Rs. 345
Idea Cellular has launched a similar plan to that of Airtel, and is offering 14 GB data along with unlimited voice calls to any number in the country at just Rs. 345.
This pack comes with a validity of 28 days and has a cap of 500 MB/day. It not clear whether the pack comes with FUP or the users would be charged post the exhaustion of their daily data limit.
Idea Cellular has not announced if this plan is available for all users or if it is just valid for a select few users. However, you can check your eligibility for the pack by signing into your account in the “My Idea” app.
Vodafone Offers 28 GB 4G Data & Unlimited Calls @ Rs. 346
While Airtel and Idea plans look very reasonable at the first glance, given their network quality and reliability, Vodafone is offering something much more lucrative.
Vodafone has taken the telecom tariff price wars very seriously and is now determined to beat Jio in their own ball game!
The company will offer 1 GB 4G data/day coupled with unlimited voice calls to any network at just Rs. 346, valid for 28 days.
To add bells and whistles to its already attractive offer, Vodafone will be offering double data benefit and double validity to first-time recharges of this pack. So, if you are a Vodafone user and decide to recharge with this Rs. 346 pack, then you will get 56 GB 4G data (restricted to 1GB/day) valid for 56 days.
How Do These Offers Fare Against Jio Prime?
Jio Prime users will get unlimited data along with a daily FUP limit (1 GB high-speed data), unlimited voice and SMS, and zero roaming charges.
The pack costs Rs. 303 for 28 days, but the users will have to enroll themselves into Jio Prime membership costing Rs. 99 for a year. This brings the total cost of the pack to Rs. 311 approx.
Now, as we all know, the Jio network is not as reliable as that of Airtel, or Vodafone, or Idea. This might push a lot of business users away. Now, when the leading telecom players are offering 14-28 GB data per month, which is enough for most of us, many average users will have less inclination to opt for Jio Prime.
As of now, Airtel and Idea are offering 14 GB for 28 days, but we expecting them to revise their offering to match Vodafone and Jio tariff plans.
The incumbents will leap frog each other in this price war, till the market stabilizes in a few quarters. Many would like to wait and watch before porting their current number to the operator offering the best value for money. In the meantime, some might subscribe to Jio Prime by paying Rs. 99 and then wait before recharging their Jio number with Rs. 303.
What will you do? I am waiting till the month-end before taking a call.