With the festive season in full swing, every telecom operator is launching plans one after the another. To start with, Vodafone brought the Rs.786 plan offering unlimited voice calling including national incoming and outgoing roaming calls with 25GB data for the postpaid users. Now BSNL has also launched two new prepaid plans for the season namely the Rs.786 and Rs.599 to celebrate Eid.
With BSNL’s Rs 786 combo plan, users will get free voice calls as well as 3GB 3G data for 90 days. The Rs 599 combo plan offers subscribers a talk time of Rs 786. Out of the Rs 786 talk time, a subscriber will get Rs 507 in main account and Rs 279 in a dedicated account which will have a 30-day validity. Under the offer, subscribers will also get ten on-net local SMS with a validity of 30 days. Both of these combo prepaid plans will be applicable only till June 30. RK Mittal, Director (CM) BSNL Board said in a press statement, “These offers are most competitive combo STVs in current market scenario.These are available across the country to greet our valuable & loyal customers.”
These two BSNL plans may seem a bit costlier if we compare them with other operator's plans. Above plans may prove to be a letdown for users who cannot port out their number to another operator. The newly announced plans are available for online recharge as well as through retailer. BSNL, a few days back launched Chaukka 444 which offered 4 GB of 3G data per day for a validity of 90 days.
| Plan Name | Chaukka | Rs.599 | Rs.786 |
| Plan Cost | Rs.444 | Rs.599 | Rs.786 |
| Validity | 90 days. | 30 days | 90 Days |
| Data | 4 GB per day. | No Data | 3 GB |
| Effective cost per day. | Rs.4.93 | Rs.19.67 | Rs.8.73 |
| Recharge Availability | Online and Retailer | Online and Retailer | Online and Retailer |
The Rs.599 is essentially a top up voucher. It offers more than full talk time benefits along with ten on-net local SMS with a validity of 30 days. Given the present market scenario and network quality of BSNL, it will be a test for BSNL’s loyal subscribers to opt for any of these new plans rolled out by the operator. BSNL is yet to roll out 4G services in the country, and several users are claiming that the 3G speeds of the state-run telco are pathetic. We hope to see more competitive plans by the incumbent when its 4G service rolls out in the country.
