Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Bharti Airtel both have their own fiber broadband businesses. BSNL operates its fiber broadband business under the name BSNL Bharat Fibre while Bharti Airtel operates it under Airtel Xstream Fiber. Both the companies have been in the market for a long time and understand what their users want from a broadband connection. While Bharti Airtel came out with the fiber broadband business much earlier than BSNL, the state-run operator has also stepped up its game and started offering very similar broadband plans as that of Airtel. Let’s take a look at the plans from both the companies, which are very similar.
BSNL and Airtel Offer Very Similar Broadband Plans
BSNL and Airtel offer three broadband plans for essentially the same price and same benefits. These plans cost Rs 799, Rs 999, and Rs 1,499.
Starting with the Rs 799 plan, BSNL offers 100 Mbps speed to the users with 3.3TB fair-usage-policy (FUP) data. Airtel also offers 100 Mbps speed but with a little bit more data, 3,333GB. There is a landline connection included with the plans of both Airtel and BSNL. However, BSNL doesn’t offer any over-the-top (OTT) benefits to the users while Airtel does. With the 100 Mbps plan from Airtel, users get the OTT benefit of Airtel Xstream Premium, Shaw Academy, and Wynk Music, along with other Airtel Thanks benefits.
The second plan that both the operators offer is of Rs 999. The Rs 999 plan from both Airtel and BSNL comes with 200 Mbps speed. The data offered by the plans is again similar (3.3TB), with Airtel taking the lead by offering 33GB extra. Again, the users get a free landline connection from the companies. However, this time, even BSNL users get an OTT benefit of Disney+ Hotstar Premium. Airtel also offers OTT benefits, including Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ Hotstar VIP, along with other Airtel Thanks benefits.
Lastly, coming to the Rs 1,499 plan, both the companies again offer similar speeds of 300 Mbps. However, BSNL offers 4TB of data with the plan, while Bharti Airtel offers 3.3TB data only. The landline connection with OTT benefits is included in both plans. BSNL again offers Disney+ Hotstar Premium benefit while Bharti Airtel offers Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ Hotstar VIP and other Airtel Thanks benefits.
Both BSNL and Bharti Airtel offer the same quality of fiber broadband service to the users. Ideally, if you want more OTT benefits, Airtel is the company you should go with. But if you can settle with BSNL and like its services, even the state-run operator doesn’t offer bad services. At the end of the day, it would depend on the company you want to go with.
