The distinction between the postpaid plans being offered by the likes of Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel and the Mukesh Ambani led telecom operator Reliance Jio is pretty evident in the industry. A new report filed by CLSA and covered by ET Telecom highlights that the postpaid plans of Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea are priced almost 1.5 times or 2 times more than the plans of Reliance Jio. In the report, it’s stated, “Our analysis of more than 100 mobile tariff plans across Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea reveals ’incumbents’ 1.5-2x premium in postpaid and 15-30 per cent premium in prepaid offers vs Reliance Jio.”
Reliance Jio Shipping Cheapest Postpaid Plan
The report also says that a lack of ramp-up in the postpaid sector is “surprising”. Further, the report notes “Among incumbents, we note ’Bharti’s expansion in postpaid subscribers and market share performance vs Vodafone Idea. Meanwhile, with expected imminent recovery in sector revenues and rising data adoption, we remain positive on Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel.” The CLSA report added that amongst all the telecom operators compared, Reliance Jio has the cheapest postpaid plan which is available for Rs 199 monthly rental and it offers 25GB data to the subscribers along with unlimited voice calling.
On the other hand, Bharti Airtel has largely consolidated its postpaid offerings to drive higher ARPU. The postpaid plans of Bharti Airtel now start at Rs 499 and go as high as Rs 1,599. However, there is also a circle-specific postpaid plan from Bharti Airtel which is available for Rs 399, but it is being extended to the subscribers in select circles only. Whereas, Vodafone Idea offers similarly priced plans as Bharti Airtel, but the telco also has a cheaper Rs 299 plan which ships 30GB data, unlimited calling and other benefits.
Bharti Airtel Offering Most Benefits With Postpaid Plans
When it comes to shipping benefits, Bharti Airtel’s postpaid plans trump the competition as these postpaid plans ship with content and other benefits like three months of Netflix subscription, free annual subscription of Amazon Prime, and ZEE5. Whereas, Vodafone Idea only bundles Amazon Prime and ZEE5.
In the past, we have already covered the differences between the postpaid plans of Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea. A few weeks back, to drive more revenue, Bharti Airtel did away with the lower-priced postpaid plans and revamped its postpaid portfolio. Vodafone Idea also followed in similar footsteps a few weeks later. Now it is worth noting that the postpaid sector is a very profitable one for the telecom operators, and as such the telcos have put a heavy emphasis on the ARPU. In comparison, the postpaid subscribers of Reliance Jio are in limited numbers and very meagre as compared to the total postpaid subscribers of the other incumbent telcos. As such, the Reliance Jio postpaid plan is considered by many to lack in benefits as compared to the other plans.
