The term broadband has been searched three times more post the onset of the COVID-19 lockdown as compared to its pre-lockdown levels, Edelweiss said in a research report. The financial company said that uptick in the search is “unlikely” to translate to subscriber addition for the service providers due to their inability to complete the fulfilment. However, Edelweiss said that the consumers will be more aware of the possibilities in terms of digital connectivity with the importance of broadband increasing from its past levels. It has to be noted that India’s broadband story has been a complete contrast to that of the cellular networks with the number of wired broadband subscribers lagging behind at 19.14 million as of December 2019. Meanwhile, the data from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) reveals that the number of active wireless subscribers were 982.57 million as of December. With COVID-19 lockdown, the majority of citizens were forced to work from home causing severe strain on the cellular networks as cellular networks were used for personal and professional work. However, with the term broadband being searched more than ever before and the companies including Airtel resuming sign ups for installations, We at TelecomTalk look at long-term offers of major service providers. Some of the providers including Hathway offer free installation on long-term plans while Jio offers additional data on the plans.
BSNL Offers on Long-Term Broadband Plans
With a subscriber base of 8.39 million as of December 2019, BSNL is the top service provider in India and the state-owned company runs dedicated plans across cities, districts and states. In the Tamil Nadu circle, BSNL in its ADSL segment has an offer for those subscribers considering the long-term subscription of its BBG Combo ULD 611 CS54 plan.
The 8 Mbps till 80 GB BBG Combo ULD 611 CS54 plan costs subscribers Rs 611 per month with BSNL restricting the speed to 1 Mbps beyond 80 GB. Further, users can make unlimited calls on the BSNL network while Rs 1.2 per call is charged for other network numbers. BSNL also enables users to make unlimited calls on Sunday and free calling between 10.30 PM and 6 AM every night.
For those users signing up for six months, BSNL charges Rs 3360 offering users Rs 306 discount. Similarly, BSNL offers one month free service to those users subscribing to the BBG Combo ULD 611 CS54 plan for 12 month with BSNL charging Rs 7332 for the annual plan.
While BSNL provides benefits only to its BBG Combo ULD 611 CS54 for the six month subscription, the company offers one month free service to several annual plans.
Notably, the lowest priced 2GB BSNL CUL plan that provides users with 8 Mbps speed till 2 GB per day also receives an one month free service. The annual 2GB BSNL CUL plan is priced at Rs 4188 with BSNL restricting speed to 1 Mbps beyond the 2 GB limit.
Additionally, BSNL said that the users making advance payments to its Biennial and Triennial plans will receive three months and four months rental waivers respectively. The company said that the rental waivers will be applicable to plans in the DSL, Bharat Fibre and the BBoWiFI Broadband segments.
Bharti Airtel offers on Long-Term Broadband plans
Bharti Airtel is second on the list with a subscription base of 2.42 million as of December 2019. The company offers four broadband plans across majority of the cities in India and often provides its existing users with benefits including unlimited data and discounts on its long-term plans.
However, unlike other operators on the list, Airtel doesn’t run a consistent offer for new users who are willing to sign up to its long-term plans. The company mostly provides either a free installation and free router or free installation and discounts on its long-term plans to new users. Crucially, Airtel mostly limits the offers to those users signing up on the weekends and to limited cities.
We at TelecomTalk reported on Sunday that Airtel was offering free installation and 15% discount on its long-term plans. In the prior week, Airtel offered free installation and free router to new users in selected cities including Chennai and Hyderabad. As of press time on Monday, the company has not highlighted a specific offer to new users in either of the metro cities in India.
Atria Convergence Technologies offers on Long-Term Broadband plans
With a subscriber base of 1.52 million, ACT Fibernet is third on the list of top wired broadband service providers in India. The company currently provides free installation to new users who make advance payment to its one month, six month and annual plans across major cities in India. Further, ACT Fibernet either provides a free router or one month free service to new users making six month advance payments. However, the company on its high tiered plans in Chennai and other cities provides Netflix cashback on plans to eligible users signing up for its six month plans.
Additionally, the users who sign for the annual Act Basic plan in Chennai can select either two months of free service or one month of free service and free router. The company also offers multiple months of free service along with free router and Netflix cashback to users signing up for its high tiered plans.
In Hyderabad, the company offers up to four months of free service and Netflix cashback up to Rs 500 per month to those users who sign up for Biennial plans.
Hathway Cable and Datacom offers on Long-Term Broadband plans
Hathway is the fourth major service provider in India with a subscription base of 0.90 million. Similar to BSNL, the company runs dedicated plans that are often restricted to certain cities with the benefits for those users signing up for the long term plans often varying between cities. In Bengaluru, the company has listed just one plan named the Value Pack that provides users with 150 Mbps speed with an FUP limit of 1000 GB. Hathway provides free installation and free router to new users who select either a six month subscription for Rs 5094 or an annual subscription pack for Rs 10188.
In Hyderabad, the company offers free installation and router to new users selecting the annual subscription of its basic Hero plan or six month and annual subscription of its Freedom plan.
Reliance Jio Offers on Long-Term Broadband Plans
With a subscription base of 0.86 million as of December 2019, Reliance Jio is the fifth largest service provider in India. The company offers six plans across India with users receiving 25% extra data on three month subscription. Similarly, the company offers users to select either one month extra subscription or 50% additional data to users signing up for six month subscription.
Additionally, Jio lets its annual plan subscribers select either a free device or two months extra subscription or double data on all its plans. The free device ranges from a bluetooth speaker on its basic plan to a 43-inch TV worth Rs 44,990 on its Titanium plan. The basic Bronze plan is priced at Rs 699 per month while the monthly charges of the Titanium plan is Rs 8499 per month.
