Reliance Jio has hardly hit the market, but its entry is leading to some innovative, and profitable, reactions from its rivals as far as telecom consumers in India are concerned.
Though Idea Cellular withdrew its double data offer this month, Bharti Airtel has announced a new scheme under which it will offer a free Mifi device and 2 GB of 4G data.
It is advertising the offer online with the tag line “Take free 4G hotspot trial. Enjoy 2 GB of data for 3 days.’
When you click on the ad, you are sent to a page on Airtel’s website called www.airtel.in/4ghotspottrial
Here, you are asked to give your name, mobile number, city and PIN code. Once you submit the information, an Airtel 4G sales agent will call you and deliver the hotspot with free data.
To ensure that you don’t ‘run away’ with the device, Airtel collects a refundable deposit of Rs 2,300 from you at the time.
If you are dissatisfied with the service after three days, you can return the device and get your money back. If not, you can sign up for a normal 4G plan.
Airtel 4G hotspot offers 10 GB for Rs 1350 in most circles, while in some places the rates are lower at Rs 999 for 10 GB per month.
The offer has come just days ahead of the launch of 4G upgrade offers by Reliance Communications and trial packs by Reliance Jio.
The Ambani brothers are aiming to dislodge Sunil Mittal from his status as the king of telecom in India.
Mukesh Ambani has poured an estimated Rs 1.5 lakh crore into creating one of the most advanced telecom networks anywhere in the world with spectrum in three 4G bands. Bharti, the biggest telecom company in India, is offering 4G in select cities in India using two bands of spectrum.