Annual prepaid plans became a trend in 2018 when Reliance Jio first introduced the Rs 1,699 plan. Following the footsteps of Jio, other private telcos Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea followed by the suit along with government-led BSNL. Reliance Jio has been modifying its prepaid plans for a while now and the last change to its annual plan was made a couple of months ago. Jio is now offering an affordable Rs 2,121 annual prepaid plan with 336 days validity and 1.5GB data per day. On the other hand, BSNL has a Rs 1,999 annual plan with 3GB daily data on offer, followed by Airtel and Vodafone Idea with Rs 2,398 and Rs 2,399 yearly plans, respectively. Reliance Jio has disadvantages in two aspects- the validity of Rs 2,121 prepaid plan and the outgoing voice calling to other numbers. Continue reading to know more in detail.
Yearly Daily Data Prepaid Plans from Telcos Listed
Starting with Jio's long-term daily data offering, it comes with 1.5GB data per day totalling at 504GB, Jio to Jio unlimited voice calling, non-Jio FUP minutes of 12000 and 100 SMSes per day. These benefits are valid for 336 days from the date of recharge and the plan also offers after FUP speeds of 64 Kbps alongside a complimentary subscription to all the Jio apps like JioCinema, JioTV and so on.
Because BSNL reduced the validity of its Rs 1,699 prepaid plan to 300 days recently, the only annual prepaid plan with daily data benefit is Rs 1,999. The plan comes with 3GB daily data, 250 minutes of voice calls per day, 100 SMSes per day and subscription to BSNL TV and BSNL Tunes for the first 60 days. Data, calling and SMS benefits will be valid for 365 days.
On the other hand, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea's Rs 2,398 and Rs 2,399 yearly plans offer 1.5GB data per day, unlimited voice calling to any network within India and 100 SMSes per day for 365 days.
Why Reliance Jio is Losing the Race to Other Telcos?
As you can clearly see, Reliance Jio is way behind other telcos when it comes to benefits and validity. Firstly, the Rs 2,121 prepaid plan costs slightly lesser than that of the yearly plans from Airtel and Vodafone Idea. However, it comes with just 336 days validity which means users will have to perform another monthly recharge to get services for 365 days.
Also, the FUP limit on outgoing voice calls to other networks. Reliance Jio is offering just 12,000 non-Jio minutes with the Rs 2,121 prepaid plan which is underwhelming, considering what Airtel and Vodafone Idea are providing.
The best daily data yearly prepaid plan is being offered by BSNL at Rs 1,999, however, it has two downsides in the form of 250 daily FUP minutes and the lack of 4G services. For those who talk a lot, the yearly plans from Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are perfect choices, and for those who are looking for a heavy data plan, then BSNL's Rs 1,999 plan is the de-facto choice.
