There was a time during the initial days of the data tariff war when there was one telecom operator which was shipping abysmal prepaid plans, and it was the state-led telecom operator, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL). That was also the reason why the telco started slipping into massive losses. However, since that time, the government led telco has surely corrected its ways, and now the situation is such that the company is offering some of the most attractive prepaid plans in the industry right now. For the people who would like to enjoy more data, some of the BSNL prepaid plans are the best options out there. There is also the Rs 1,699 prepaid plan which other telcos offer, and you would expect Reliance Jio to offer the best deal on this plan, but things have taken a different turn and for good. Here is a comparison between the Rs 1,699 prepaid plan from Reliance Jio and BSNL.
How Did BSNL Rs 1,699 Prepaid Plan Become Better than Reliance Jio’s Offering?
It is worth noting that BSNL’s Rs 1,699 prepaid plan came around the same time when the telecom industry was obsessing over long-term plans and other telcos had launched similar plans with the exact same price point. However, BSNL’s prepaid plan of Rs 1,699 was a very attractive deal as it started offering 2GB data per day. While other telcos were offering data in the range of 1GB data per day, BSNL bumped up this limit by double. This was one of the prime reasons why BSNL had an edge since the introduction of this plan.
Further on, BSNL also introduced something called the Bumper Offer. The Bumper Offer was first seen last year, and under it, the subscribers enjoy additional daily data on top of their data FUP limits. Since the Rs 1,699 prepaid plan by BSNL qualified for this offer, the subscribers became eligible for the additional 2.2GB data which BSNL was providing. As such, the Rs 1,699 prepaid plan users continue to enjoy 4.2GB daily data for the promotional period. The total data offering that this plan ships is massively more than what other telcos are offering in the market right now, including Reliance Jio.
Last Blow by BSNL in the Form of Validity Extension
Even with this massive data offering, some consumers had doubts about the worthiness of the Rs 1,699 BSNL prepaid plan and BSNL removed that doubt by launching a promotional period validity extension. Therefore, subscribers recharging their numbers with this plan between August 14, 2019, and September 13, 2019, will get to enjoy a total validity of 455 days, which is 90 days more than the standard validity of 365 days.
As you can see, the BSNL Rs 1,699 prepaid plan offers 4.2GB daily data to the subscribers combined with the offer and 2GB daily data without the offer. It also comes with 455 days of validity and offers free calling and SMS benefits. Whereas, the Reliance Jio prepaid plan of Rs 1,699 offers 1.5GB daily data to the users with the other SMS, calling and additional benefits. There could also be the question of 4G speeds, which Reliance Jio, in general, has better across the country, but in areas where BSNL 4G is live, subscribing to this plan makes up for the absolute best deal.
