In India right now, Wi-Fi calling is all the craze. All the telecom operators, at least the top ones, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio, are offering VoWi-Fi or Voice Over Wi-Fi to their customers. Using this technology, the customers can make calls over the Wi-Fi network instead of the LTE network or the usual mobile network. In typical scenario, the calls made by customers are routed over the LTE network, and on the 4G network these calls are carried over the internet unlike in 2G. The methodology to carry out these calls is called VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). However, there is also another service by the state-led telecom operator, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) which comes pretty close to the VoWi-Fi service being offered by the other telecom operators, and this service is called the BSNL Wings service. Using the BSNL Wings service, the BSNL subscribers will be able to make calls over the internet similar to VoWi-Fi. But, there are some differences between the BSNL Wings service and the other VoWi-Fi services available in the market right now.
BSNL Wings Unique Features
The thing which is crucial to note here is that the underlying technology between both BSNL Wings and the VoWi-Fi being offered by other telecom operators is same, which means that the calls that will be made by both these services will be VoIP calls only which are made over the internet network. But, the difference comes up when we look at how the calls are made on the device. To use the BSNL Wings service, the subscribers of BSNL Wings will have to install an application called the “BSNL Wings” app. This soft app can be installed on any device, mobile phones, laptops, PCs or tablets. Using this application, the subscribers will be able to access their address book, look up their contacts and make calls eventually over the Wi-Fi network. However, this app will need proper login details which will be provided to the customers upon registration for the service.
Differences Between VoWi-Fi and BSNL Wings
Coming on to the registration for BSNL Wings, this is the biggest difference which the subscribers will see between the VoWi-Fi services being offered by the other telcos and the VoIP service being offered by BSNL Wings. To use BSNL Wings, the subscribers will have to pay Rs 1,099 annual rental. This amount will be paid upfront by the subscribers, and after this, they would get the login details for the BSNL Wings app, which they would be able to use. Unlike this, in the case of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel VoWi-Fi, the subscribers simply have to have an eligible smartphone for VoWi-Fi to work along with support from their carrier.
BSNL Wings Pricing
It is worth noting that the Rs 1,099 is an annual rental of the BSNL Wings service and for ISD calls, the subscribers will have to make an additional deposit of Rs 2,000 before they start using the services of BSNL Wings. The subscribers get 1,800 free minutes per month in BSNL Wings for calling, and after this, they will be charged at 30 paise per minute. One of the best advantages of BSNL Wings is that the customers of BSNL Wings get free international roaming anywhere in the world, which is something that the other subscribers will have to pay for. Additionally, in BSNL Wings, the international calls are priced at Rs 1.2 per minute. There are also discount options in some cases for the BSNL Wings annual rental. For example, government employees and existing BSNL BBoWi-Fi users only have to pay Rs 599 as deposit.
