Ever since the Jio disruption in 2016, India had the lowest tariff rates globally. Well, all good things must come to an end. All major telcos in the country have raised tariffs by 15-47%. Vodafone Idea and Airtel, which are the worse hit by the advent of Jio, were the first to levy higher voice and data charges. But soon Jio also followed the suit.
Here’s a breakdown of how much you’ll have to pay more once the new plans are active.
Reliance Jio: New Plan changes
Soon after Vodafone Idea and Airtel came up with their tariff changes, Reliance Jio introduced its “All-in-one” or AIO plans. New Jio plans are expensive by up to 39 percent, with offer benefits of up to 300%. If you go overboard, you’ll be charged 6p/min on all Off-net calls above the free usage limit. The plan specifics are listed down below.
Prices | Benefits | Validity (days) |
Rs. 98 + Rs. 10 IUC Top-Up recharge | 2GB, 300 SMS | 28 |
Rs. 129 | 2GB, UL Voice (FUP of 1000 minutes for off-net calls), 300 SMS | 28 |
Rs. 149 | 2GB/day, UL Voice (FUP of 300 minutes for off-net calls), 100 SMS/day | 24 |
Rs. 199 | 1.5GB/ day, UL Voice (FUP of 1000 minutes for off-net calls), 100 SMS/day | 28 |
Rs. 249 | 2GB/ day, UL Voice (FUP of 1000 minutes for off-net calls), 100 SMS/day | 28 |
Rs. 329 | 6GB, UL Voice (FUP of 3000 minutes for off-net calls), 1000 SMS | 84 |
Rs. 349 | 3GB/day, UL Voice (FUP of 1000 minutes for off-net calls), 100 SMS/day | 28 |
Rs. 399 | 1.5GB/ day, UL Voice (FUP of 2000 minutes for off-net calls), 100 SMS/day | 56 |
Rs. 444 | 2GB/ day, UL Voice (FUP of 2000 minutes for off-net calls), 100 SMS/day | 56 |
Rs. 555 | 1.5GB/ day, UL Voice (FUP of 3000 minutes for off-net calls), 100 SMS/day | 84 |
Rs. 599 | 2GB/ day, UL Voice (FUP of 3000 minutes for off-net calls), 100 SMS/day | 84 |
Rs. 1,299 | 24GB, UL Voice (FUP of 12000 minutes for off-net calls), 3600 SMS | 365 |
Rs. 2,199 | 1.5GB/ day, UL Voice (FUP of 12000 minutes for off-net calls), 100 SMS/day | 365 |
It also underlines the new changes are meant to strengthen the telecom sector and will take relevant measures to bolster the data consumption and digital growth in India.
Bharti Airtel: New Plan changes
Tl;dr: Similar to Vodafone Idea, Airtel will undergo a hike of up to 40% with validity periods of 2 days, 28 days, 84 days and 365 days applicable from December 3, 2019.
Airtel users can make unlimited calls to any network and there is no more 6p/min charge for crossing the FUP limit.
Price | Plan Benefits | Validity (days) |
19 | UL Voice, 200MB data, 100 SMS | 2 |
49 | Rs. 38.52 TT, 100MB data | 28 |
79 | Rs. 63.95 TT, 200MB data | 28 |
148 | UL Voice, 300 SMS, 2GB data | 28 |
219 | UL Voice, 100 SMS/day, 1GB/day | 28 |
248 | UL Voice, 100 SMS/day, 1.5GB/day | 28 |
298 | UL Voice, 100 SMS/day, 2GB/day | 28 |
399 | UL Voice, 100 SMS/day, 1.5GB/day | 56 |
499 | UL Voice, 90 SMS/day, 2GB/day | 56 |
598 | UL Voice, 100 SMS/day, 1.5GB/day | 84 |
698 | UL Voice, 100 SMS/day, 2GB/day | 84 |
1498 | UL Voice, 3600 SMS, 24GB | 365 |
2398 | UL Voice, 100 SMS/day, 1.5GB/day | 365 |
Three new “Truly Unlimited Plans” were recently added to this list viz. Rs. 219, Rs. 399, and Rs. 449.
Shashwat Sharma, CMO, Bharti Airtel said, “Airtel will continue to make large investments in emerging technologies and digital platforms to deliver world-class experiences to our customers”.
Vodafone Idea: New Plan changes
Tl;dr: Hike up to 40% with validity periods of 2 days, 28 days, 84 days and 365 days applicable from December 3, 2019.
Just like Airtel, Vodafone Idea users don’t have to pay the 6p/min charge for crossing the FUP limit. Hence the calls are truly unlimited to any network.
Combo Vouchers | ||
MRP (Rs) | Product Benefit | Validity (days) |
49 | Rs. 38 TT, 100MB data, 2.5p/sec tariff | 28 |
79 | Rs. 64 TT, 200MB data, 1p/sec tariff | 28 |
Unlimited packs | ||
149 | UL Voice, 2GB data, 300 SMS | 28 |
249 | UL Voice, 1.5GB/day of data, 100 SMS/day | 28 |
299 | UL Voice, 2GB/day of data, 100 SMS/day | 28 |
399 | UL Voice, 3GB/day of data, 100 SMS/day | 28 |
379 | UL Voice, 6GB data, 1000 SMS | 84 |
599 | UL Voice, 1.5GB/day of data, 100 SMS/day | 84 |
699 | UL Voice, 2GB/day of data, 100 SMS/day | 84 |
1499 | UL Voice, 24GB data, 3600 SMS | 365 |
2399 | UL Voice, 1.5GB/day of data, 100 SMS/day | 365 |
Unlimited Sachet | ||
19 | UL On-net Voice, 150MB data, 100 SMS | 2 |
First Recharges | ||
97 | Rs. 45 TT, 100MB data, 1p/sec | 28 |
197 | UL Voice (FUP of 1000 mins for off-net calls), 2GB data, 300 SMS | 28 |
297 | UL Voice (FUP of 1000 mins for off-net calls), 1.5GB/day of data, 100 SMS/day | 28 |
647 | UL Voice (FUP of 3000 mins for off-net calls), 1.5GB/day of data, 100 SMS/day | 84 |
Following the new announcement, Vodafone India said, “It remains committed to playing its role in actualizing the vision of Digital India by offering world-class digital experiences to cater to the evolving needs of its over 300 million customers.”
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Anyhow, things definitely took a turn for the worse for the customers but the writing has always been on the wall – the tariffs weren’t sustainable and have been gradually increasing every few months. This could have other implications such as –
- The burgeoning telecom war will pick up more steam but for luring customers with better services. The focus will be on entertainment-based content, which will benefit the creators of these.
- The Telecom sector is likely to benefit in terms of revenue generation. After all, the losses incurred up until now must be recovered.
- The usage of data/internet for content consumption will be more deliberate.
- As an aftereffect of the above point, some users may switch to VoIP calling services such as Whatsapp and Facebook messenger for making calls.
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