Amidst the concerns of telcos raising tariff prices, BSNL has come up with yet another prepaid plan of Rs 999. Notably, it's a long-validity prepaid plan from the company and it ships with benefits for 220 days from the date of recharge. BSNL says the newly launched Rs 999 plan is just a voice-only recharge. While the company is marketing the Rs 999 recharge as a voice-only plan, it's also shipping two months of PRBT (Personalised Ringback Tone) benefit. For now, BSNL launched the plan only in Kerala circle and it will be effective from December 1, 2019, in the said circle. We're not sure whether BSNL is planning to launch this plan in other circles or not at the moment.
BSNL Rs 999 Voice-Only Plan: Benefits and Validity
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has been launching new tariff plans every now and then taking on the competition. This time, the government-led telco has come up with a voice-only prepaid plan of Rs 999. The plan, which will be effective from December 1, 2019, will ship with unlimited voice calling (there's a daily cap too) to any network including Mumbai & Delhi along with two months of PRBT benefit.
While the company is marketing the plan will ship with unlimited voice calls, it's indeed capping the calls to 250 minutes per day. BSNL does not have any weekly voice calling limitation though. Also, BSNL users can make free voice calls even when they travel to Mumbai and Delhi telecom circles. The validity of the plan is 220 days from the date of recharge.
BSNL Rs 999 vs Rs 998 vs Rs 997 Prepaid Plans
Just a few days ago, BSNL introduced a Rs 997 prepaid plan in Kerala and several other circles and it's an Unlimited Combo plan from the company. With the Rs 997 plan, BSNL is providing unlimited voice calls (capped at 250 minutes per day), unlimited data (speeds will be reduced to 80 Kbps after 3GB daily data), 100 SMSes per day and PRBT for two months. These benefits are valid for 180 days from the date of recharge. As for the differences between the two plans, the newly launched Rs 999 plan ships with just voice calling benefit for 220 days, whereas the Rs 997 plan comes with data, voice calling and SMS benefits for 180 days. Having said that, the Rs 997 prepaid plan is a better overall plan between the two even though it offers 40 days less validity than the new plan.
BSNL also launched a Rs 998 Data STV that comes with 2GB data per day for 210 days, but again, the Rs 997 plan is an overall better option between these three plans.
BSNL May Increase Tariffs on December 1
We're going to see a major change on December 1 in the Indian telecom industry after nearly three years. Reliance Jio dominated the sector with its aggressive tariff plans and LTE-only services, but incumbent telcos are no longer looking to run after the Mukesh Ambani-led telco in terms of offerings. Instead, Vodafone Idea and Airtel said they would hike the tariff prices on December 1, post which Jio and BSNL also confirmed the tariff hike.
Analysts predict the tariff prices may go up by at least 40%, but a final announcement from the telcos is awaited. If your unlimited combo plan is nearing its expiry, we suggest you perform a long-validity recharge to avoid the price hike for now. What are your expectations on the tariff prices hike? Let us know in the comments section below.
