Among all the facets of the telecom industry, there is one area that suffered the most with the coming of Reliance Jio, and that is prepaid. While the subscribers enjoyed massive benefits like free data, and then cheap data, that was not the case for the telecom industry with bruised revenue and earnings. But, now the situation has surely stabilised as compared to before. But, if we look at all the prepaid offerings available in the market right now, there is a slight divide between the telecom operators with the state-led telecom operator on one side and the other private telecom operators on the other side. There is long reasoning why that is the case, and each telecom operator has something unique to offer, which is leading to such a situation. Here is how Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and other telcos like Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio have a different reputation.
Situation of Private Telecom Operators
Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are the two major telecom operators in the country right now, barring Reliance Jio. Out of these telecom operators, when it comes to prepaid plans, Bharti Airtel sees a lot more attention towards its prepaid plans, mainly because the telecom operator offers a lot of benefits when it comes to prepaid customers. Whereas, on the other hand, Vodafone Idea offers comparatively fewer benefits.
Bharti Airtel has lots of prepaid options for its subscribers like Rs 299, Rs 249, and other options. These two prepaid plans come with 28 days of validity and ship 2.5GB data and 2GB data per day to the subscribers. While one comes with the special benefit of Amazon Prime benefit, the other one comes with a Life Insurance cover of Rs 4 lakhs. Not only this, but these plans also offer other benefits like Wynk Music subscription, Airtel Xstream, Norton Mobile Security for a year, and so on. Similarly, Vodafone Idea prepaid plans in the same segment ship with benefits like Vodafone Play subscription and more.
This leaves out the other private telecom operator, Reliance Jio in the picture, which although has introduced an IUC over its outgoing calls, but still continues to provide cheap data along with other benefits. Reliance Jio customers continue to enjoy fast 4G data at low costs, access to Reliance Jio apps like JioSaavn, Jio TV for Live TV, and JioCinema for OTT content. Therefore, for people looking to buy prepaid plans in the 28-days validity segment or more, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, or Bharti Airtel prepaid plans could be the right choice.
BSNL Ranks Top When it Comes to Long-Term Plan
Now when it comes to the annual validity long-term plan which the prepaid industry has seen, there is a slight catch which the subscribers should be aware of. One long-term plan from every telecom operator out there is the Rs 1,699 prepaid plan. While every telco ships this plan with the same price tag, the benefits in this plan are different for various operators. Out of all of them, it just so happens that BSNL takes the crown.
BSNL’s Rs 1,699 prepaid plan ships 2GB data per day to the subscribers for 365 days straight, and along with it, it also offers 250 minutes of calling per day. But, under a new offer that BSNL is providing to its customers, the subscribers are getting to enjoy a total of 3.5GB data per day. Not only this, but the subscribers also enjoy a total validity of 455 days, which is 90 days of extra validity. Hence, when it comes to getting a long-term prepaid plan with 365 days validity, the BSNL prepaid plan could be the best option out there.
