BSNL has now reduced the validity of two prepaid plans- Rs 29 and Rs 47. At the same time, the telco has withdrawn three prepaid STVs of Rs 7, Rs 9 and Rs 192 across all the telecom circles. The Rs 29 prepaid STV from BSNL used to be one of the best weekly plans, but the validity of the plan is now reduced to just five days. The Rs 47 STV which used to provide benefits for nine days now comes with a validity of only one week. So it seems like the state-run telco is also following the private operators in raising the tariff prices by reducing the validity of existing plans. According to our sources, BSNL is still working on the new plans, but it will very soon introduce new plans to match the competition. Right now, BSNL has the best-prepaid plans in the industry because all the top three private operators announced new tariff plans with increased prices.
BSNL Rs 29 and Rs 47 STVs Validity Reduced by 2 Days
Reliance Jio and BSNL used to be the only two operators in the industry which offered combo plans around Rs 50. In October, Jio removed its Unlimited Sachet packs of Rs 19 and Rs 52, and now, BSNL has reduced the validity of its Rs 29 and Rs 47 STVs. Nonetheless, BSNL will continue to provide affordable combo plans, but the only drawback is the validity reduction.
The Rs 29 STV comes with unlimited off-net and on-net voice calling, but there's a daily cap of 250 minutes. The plan also comes with 1GB data and 300 SMSes. The validity of the plan after the latest revision is five days, down from the earlier seven days.
Moving onto the Rs 47 STV, it ships with unlimited voice calling capped at 250 minutes per day and 1GB of data for seven days. Do make a note that the plan used to provide PRBT benefit as well in the past, but the telco has removed this benefit as part of the latest revision. Both the Rs 29 and Rs 47 STVs offer free voice calls to MTNL network as well. For the unaware, after the Cabinet's decision to merge BSNL and MTNL, the former has started providing free voice calls to MTNL mobile numbers in Delhi and Mumbai telecom circles.
BSNL Withdraws Rs 7, Rs 9 and Rs 192 Prepaid STVs
Besides reducing the validity of the Rs 29 and Rs 47 STVs, government-led Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) also removed three STVs from its prepaid portfolio. The three STVs in question are Rs 7, Rs 9 and Rs 192. The Rs 7 STV used to provide 1GB data for one day, whereas the Rs 9 STV offered unlimited voice calling with 250 minutes cap, 100MB of data and 100 SMSes valid for one day.
The Rs 192 prepaid STV offered the users all the benefits of STV 187 along with free PRBT (Personalised Ringback Tone) and free discount coupon every day. The benefits of the STV 187 include unlimited voice calling (250 minutes per day), 3GB daily data and 100 SMSes per day for 28 days.
Lastly, BSNL also removed the PRBT facility from three prepaid plans- Rs 108, Rs 199 and Rs 260 Top-Up. We're not sure whether the revision of these prepaid plans is part of the company's tariff prices hike which it promised recently. As mentioned, BSNL is still evaluating the tariff plans introduced by private telcos and it may come up with the revised plans in the next week or so.
