Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) recently brought new voice and SMS-only prepaid plans. TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) had ordered the private telcos to bring these plans. The idea behind the order was that people could get affordable options for keeping their SIM active. There were no SMS and voice-only plans, and thus even for keeping SIM active, users had to recharge with data plans. Voice and SMS packs have resolved this issue for the customers. But the net effect of the arrival of these plans is actually worse for the consumers than before. Let us understand how.
Read More - Jio, Airtel and Vi Every Voice and SMS Packs Listed
Indian Telcos Found a Loophole and Exploited it
The private Indian telcos brought new voice and SMS packs, but they are almost similarly priced as their old value plans. For example, let's take a look at the Rs 1899 plan from Jio that was removed recently. It used to come with 336 days of validity, offered 24GB of data, and unlimited calling with 3600 SMS. Now, instead of this plan, Jio is offering the Rs 1958 plan, which doesn't bundle data, and offers unlimited voice calling, and 3600 SMS for 365 days.
The average daily cost of keeping the SIM active with the Rs 1899 plan was Rs 5.65, and users also got 24GB of data. However, with the Rs 1958 plan, the average daily cost comes only marginally down to 5.36 and the data has been removed. So basically, Jio has removed the data, and the price of keeping SIM active is the same.
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Bharti Airtel has done a similar thing. Airtel has removed the Rs 509 plan which came with 6GB of data, unlimited calling, and 100 SMS/day for 84 days. Instead, it has introduced a Rs 499 plan which offers unlimited calling and 900 SMS for 84 days. The average daily cost of using the Rs 509 plan was Rs 6.05 while it is Rs 5.94 with the Rs 499 plan. So no major difference here either. Instead, if you want the plan with the data, you will have to pay Rs 548. The Rs 548 plan from Airtel comes with unlimited calling, 900 SMS, and 7GB of data for 84 days.
Vodafone Idea has introduced a Rs 1460 plan, which comes with 270 days of service validity, 100 SMS, and unlimited calling. The average daily cost of using this plan is Rs 5.40. There was already a Rs 1999 plan, which is still available, and it comes with 365 days of service validity and 100 SMS/day along with 24GB of data and unlimited calling. The average daily cost of using the Rs 1999 plan from Vi is Rs 5.47, which is marginally higher than the Rs 1460 plan.
So the telcos has essentially removed the data, reduced the validity along with the price, and kept the average daily cost of using these plans the same.
