- State-owned BSNL is offering 90 days additional validity on its annual prepaid recharge pack.
- Telcos such as Airtel, Jio, and VI have increased plan rates and still provide only 28 days validity for monthly packs.
- Quarterly plans from BSNL offer similar benefits as other telcos, but are cheaper and provide longer validity.
BSNL has been receiving a lot of love from customers lately thanks to its cheaper prepaid recharge plans. While other telcos such as Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea have been increasing tariffs, BSNL is offering extended validity and free data to its users. The private telcos have not only increased prices but have also cut down benefits in certain circles. The customers are feeling the pinch and we’ve been noticing a lot of users porting to BSNL in various states. The government-owned network is also offering free data to customers who’re making the switch.
Just last month, BSNL announced some additional offers for customers using their annual Rs 2,399 plan. Users going for this plan would receive an additional 90 days of extra validity. Although this offer was supposed to end on January 15, the telco has kept it going. Instead of the standard 365 days of validity, BSNL will offer up to 455 days of total validity for users who recharge with the Rs 2,399 pack.
Even the quarterly plans from BSNL seem like a much better deal when compared to other leading telcos in the country. For example, Jio offers a quarterly plan for Rs 666 with 1.5GB data per day and 84 days validity, whereas a BSNL quarterly plan with 1.5GB data will cost you just Rs 485. Not only is the BSNL plan cheaper, but it also offers 90 days of validity, which means that you get extra 6 days of usage with up to 9GB additional data while saving a lot of money.
Of course, BSNL is still lagging behind the major telcos when it comes to internet speeds, network quality, and other benefits. Once BSNL starts improving on these aspects, then we could see more users switching over to the state-owned network. However, customers are also speaking out and pushing Airtel, Jio, and VI to reduce tariffs or provide 30 days of validity on their monthly packs.
