Reliance Jio has unveiled a set of new plans that will come into effect from tomorrow, effecting a price increase of about 15% to existing tariff.
The phrasing of the new plans also suggests that these are ‘regular’ plans, and not promotional offers that will disappear after three months.
15% ON AVERAGE
Most scheme has seen a 15% increase.
For example, the price of the most popular plan, Rs 399 for 84 GB, has been increased by to Rs 459.
A new plan has been introduced at Rs 399 with a shorter validity of 70 days instead of 84 days as was the case earlier.
The validity of the 509 plan, which gives 2 GB per day for 56 days, has been brought down to 49 days, which implies a price increase of 14.3%.
The Rs 309 pack – which used to give 1 GB per day for 56 days – has been dispensed with.
Similarly, the extra 30 GB that used to be offered on heavy plans, such as the 999 and the Rs 4,999 packs, has been stopped as well.
However, the validity of these big denomination packs has been increased.
For example, the 1,999 pack — which gives 125 GB of data with no daily cap — will now be valid for a full six months instead of the earlier four months. The 4,999 plan has seen its validity extended from seven months to a full year.
The regular data quota under these plans has been kept static, with the 999 offering 60 GB, 1999 offering 125 GB and 4,999 giving 350 GB. Plans above Rs 4,999 have been removed.
NO MORE INCREASES?
The key difference between the latest tariff card and the earlier ones is that the latest one looks like ‘regular’ tariffs, and not promotions.
For example, previous plans tended to give more data and validity for the first recharge, and less data for subsequent recharges.
In other words, they promised a price increase after the initial 84 days.
However, the new plans do not have any such feature. For example, the 459 plan will give you 84 GB of data over a period of 84 days on the first recharge as well as on subsequent recharges.
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However, the 399 scheme used to give 84 GB the first time and then only 28 GB.
None of the new packs have any promotional periods, indicating that the company feels comfortable enough about these plans to be able to pitch them as regular tariff.
Under Indian telecom rules, any plan that is offered as a regular tariff scheme, cannot be discontinued before six months are over.
This means that rivals too must now get ready to operate at such low price levels, while earlier, they had the hope that they could raise their prices as the customers of the Mukesh Ambani firm dropped out of the initial 84-day promotional period.
The company did not announce a Rs 295 scheme as expected, nor did it announce any scheme with 1.2 GB of data per day.