Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd or BSNL, which is scheduled to start its 4G services this month, has overhauled its tariff plans in circles such as Kerala, the first state in line for LTE launch.
As part of the tariff overhaul, it has withdrawn its most jaw-dropping plans, and replaced them with newer ones.
The impact of the changes is to increase the price of data.
However, it did show some innovation as well, particularly in providing daily-data packs with a validity of one year — something no other telecom provider offers.
Among the plans that have been withdraw or replaced are the key blockbusters — 333 and 444.
The 333 recharge used to provide 3GB per day for 60 days, while the 444 scheme used to provide 4GB per day for 90 days.
The 444 has been withdrawn, while the 333 has been replaced. As a result, under the new line-up, the maximum usage allowed under daily-data plans will be 3GB per day.
SHORT DURATION PACKS
Instead of 3GB per day for 60 days, the 333 recharge will now give only 1GB per day for 41 days.
So as not to disappoint heavy users, BSNL did come up with a new 3GB/day pack, but with far lower entitlements. Priced at Rs 339, it comes with a validity of just 26 days.
Another new short duration pack is for Rs 292, and provides 1.5GB per day for 25 days.
At the lower end, to compete with the 199 packs from rival operators, BSNL is coming out with a Rs 186 plan that gives 1GB per day and unlimited calls for 28 days.
TWO MONTH PACKS
Besides the above shorter duration plans, the company has also unveiled four schemes with validity of around two months (see chart).
First is the Rs 395 scheme, which gives 1GB per day for 56 days.
Second is the Rs 446 recharge, which will give 1GB per day for 71 days. Adding Rs 115 to this recharge (Rs 561) will give you an extra validity of 9 days (80 days).
Finally, it also unveiled a Rs 549 pack that offers 2GB per day for 60 days.
3-12 MONTHS
More interesting, however, are its long-duration packs.
It has announced six new packs with longer validity in Kerala. These come without voice benefits, unlike the one- and two-month packs discussed above.
Out of these longer duration packs, only one — priced at Rs 821 — has a validity of three months, while the others are good for 10-12 months.
One of the most interesting of these is the Rs 1,498 yearly recharge.
The recharge works out to about Rs 125 per month, and gives 91 GB of data valid for one full year with no daily caps. [polldaddy poll=9922247]
This is a unique pack as the other operators charge at least Rs 4000 for year-long schemes. Jio, for example charges Rs 4,999 for its cheapest one-year pack that gives 350 GB.
Also interesting is the fact that the telecom company is now offering validity of up to one year on its per-day plans, something that no other operator provides right now.
Among these, the most attractive is the Rs 1,949 pack that gives 1 GB per day for 300 days, which works out to about Rs 200 per month.
For heavier users, a Rs 4498 recharge gets you 2GB per day for one full year.
ALSO SEE
| BSNL NEW PLANS | |||||||
| Price | GB/day | Days | Total GB | Rs/GB | VOICE | ||
| 186 | 1 | 28 | 28 | 6.64 | YES | ||
| 292 | 1.5 | 25 | 37.5 | 7.79 | YES | ||
| 339 | 3 | 26 | 78 | 4.35 | YES | ||
| 333 | 1 | 41 | 41 | 8.12 | YES | ||
| 395 | 1 | 56 | 56 | 7.05 | YES | ||
| 446 | 1 | 71 | 71 | 6.28 | YES | ||
| 561 | 1 | 80 | 80 | 7.01 | NO | ||
| 1498 | U | 91 | 91 | 16.46 | NO | ||
| 821 | 1 | 120 | 120 | 6.84 | NO | ||
| 1949 | 1 | 300 | 300 | 6.50 | NO | ||
| 4498 | 2 | 365 | 730 | 6.16 | NO | ||
| 3998 | 1.5 | 365 | 547.5 | 7.30 | NO | ||
| 2798 | 1 | 365 | 365 | 7.67 | NO | ||
| ULTRA.NEWS | |||||||