Bharti launched 4G services in Kolkata, Bangalore and Pune last year and extended their 4G reach to Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula in March of this year. Even though 4G offers scintillating speeds, not many people subscribed to 4G services due to high prevailing rates.
After slashing their 2G rates by nearly 90 percent, Airtel now seems to be targeting customers for their 4G services. According to the press release sent to us, Airtel has now introduced new and relatively cheaper 4G plans.
Airtel’s previous 4G plans started from minimum Rs. 999, however the new plans introduced by Airtel now start at Rs. 450, bringing down the cost of entry plans by less than half.
New Airtel 4G Plans
| Data Allowed in GB | Plan Cost (MRP in Rs) | Extras |
| 2 GB | 450 | N/A |
| 3 GB | 650 | N/A |
| 4 GB | 750 | N/A |
| 10 GB | 999 | Free access to Movies/Games Library |
| 12 GB | 1299 | Free access to Movies/Games Library |
| 15 GB | 1449 | Free access to Movies/Games Library |
| 25 GB | 2049 | Free access to Movies/Games Library |
| 45 GB | 2999 | Free access to Movies/Games Library |
| 80 GB | 4799 | Free access to Movies/Games Library |
The previous 4G plans started with minimum 6 GB bundled data for Rs. 999/- and now for same price a 4G customer gets 10GB of data.
Not only that, customers subscribing to Rs.999 & above plans will now get free access to a library of 1,000 movies and 100 games, which is brought by Airtel in partnership with BigFlix and Indiagames.
There are 3 ways Airtel customers can access 4G data on their devices – First, they can use Airtel 4G dongle which can be connected directly to your laptop or PC to access internet. Second, Airtel also offers Airtel 4G CPE Router which allows multiple devices to access 4G using home WiFi solution. Third, if a user has a 4G enabled smartphone, he can directly access it just like 3G or 2G connectivity.
With voice calls and traditional voice services getting saturated, It is great to see that Telecom operators are now shifting their focus towards data services to ramp up their revenues. However, operators need to understand that Indian consumers will lap-up data connectivity only if they are cost effective and barrier of entry is low.
