- Almost all leading telcos in India have increased the pricing of their prepaid recharge plans lately.
- Amid the tariff hike, the inclination towards switching to BSNL has seen a surge.
- The majority of people interacting with 91mobiles’ social media handles seem to be leaning towards switching to BSNL.
Not too long ago, all three private telecom companies in India increased the pricing of their prepaid recharge plans. These price hikes were, unsurprisingly, not been taken well by subscribers of the telcos. This is a clear-cut added burden on the consumer’s pockets, as they will now have to spend extra to avail of the same benefits they used to enjoy at a much lower price. Amid this ongoing price hike, the end customer appears to have started leaning towards government-owned telecom operator BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited), as it appears to be the only support left for the users. We have noticed a surge in the comments backing up the same on our social media posts, as consumers are clearly not too happy with this development. Take a look.
Public seemingly angry with prepaid recharge price hike
Whatever we mentioned earlier is not our personal sentiment, but is a picture painted with the comments we have received on our social media handle(s), where most of the mobile users are expressing their desire to join BSNL, as they are frustrated with the arbitrary nature of pricing kept by the private telcos. Below are some screenshots of the comments that we have been receiving lately:
Even though the data set is not enough to call this a nationwide sentiment, it is still evidence of the fact that the public is upset because of the price hike and wants to switch to BSNL as a means to avoid the price hike. That said, many would still refrain from doing so or might feel hesitant in doing so because of some obvious reasons which BSNL should ideally take care of.
BSNL and its lack of popularity
There is no denying the fact that in comparison to the private telcos, BSNL does offer more affordable recharge packs. However, its services pale in comparison to what the competition offers and its lack of popularity is not a surprise to anyone following the industry.
Forget the lack of lucrative offers of huge daily data allowances or free calling, BSNL doesn’t even offer 4G in much of the country! The lack of 4G support on BSNL puts it leagues behind what Jio, Airtel, and Vi offer to their subscribers. And this lack of a solid infrastructure, coverage, and spectrum is not something that’ll go away anytime soon. BSNL expects to start offering pan-India 4G in the next couple of years. You can forget 5G being a thing for several years, of course.
These will be some of the key areas the government-led telecom provider needs to work upon if it hopes to capitalise on the growing public sentiment to switch from their current network to BSNL.
