Major telecom operators — Reliance Jio, Vodafone, Bharti Airtel, Idea and BSNL — have been on a war footing ever since Reliance Jio offered free unlimited 4G data to its subscribers in October last year. There is no sign of the fight coming to an end, with each of them trying to give more data to its consumers for less money.
Almost all the telecom service providers have announced data freebies, besides continuing their 4G data tariff plans that have been there for a while. This indicates that consumers, irrespective of the network they use, will continue to enjoy good deals in data.
Here are the best 4G data tariff plans you can avail during July 2017:
Also read: BSNL's unlimited 4G data offer to take on other telecom operators
Reliance Jio (prepaid)
Dhan Dhana Dhan plan, which offers unlimited data at 4G speed for 84GB with a daily FUP of 1GB (unlimited data at 128kbps post 1GB usage), free voice call to subscribers of all telecom operators (local, STD and roaming), and unlimited SMS (local STD and roaming) at Rs 309, has come to an end but it will continue with some changes. Reliance Jio users will now get only 28GB of 4G data for 28 days instead of 84 days for the same amount.
The Rs 509 4G data plan too has undergone some changes as the three month offer has come to an end. Under the new tariff, users can avail 56GB of 4G data with a daily FUP of 2GB (unlimited data at 128kbps post 2GB usage), free voice call to subscribers of all telecom operators (local, STD and roaming) and unlimited SMS (local STD and roaming). The users enjoyed 128GB of 4G data for three months, till late June.
Interestingly, Reliance Jio offers prepaid recharges starting Rs 19. It has also come up with a new promotional offer for its prepaid users who have already enrolled in Jio Prime membership plan. Those who purchase the Lyf-branded smartphones such as Earth 1, Earth 2, Water 1, Water 7S, Water 8, Water 10, Water 11, F1, F1S and Wind 4S, can avail 20 percent extra 4G data. The offer is valid until March 31, 2018.
Reliance Jio (postpaid)
For post-paid subscribers, the Rs 309 4G data plan offers 30GB of 4G data, besides other benefits enjoyed by the pre-paid users for the same amount. However, the validity has been reduced from three months to one month. As for the Rs 509 plan, users can avail only 60GB of 4G data with a daily FUP of 2GB for one month instead of 180GB data (three months) that was offered until last month.
Bharti Airtel currently offers 1GB of 4G data per day for 70 days and unlimited Airtel-to-Airtel calls (local and STD) with a daily cap of 300 minutes and 1,200 minutes per week (10 paise per minute after crossing the capped limit) at Rs 244 for its prepaid users. Its Rs 345 plan also offers the same benefits, except an increased in usage — 2GB of 4G data for 28 days.
Bharti Airtel
The country's largest telecom network announced Holiday Surprises for its postpaid subscribers (who joined the network before February 28) in April this year. It has announced that the offer have been extended by three more months, which means Airtel postpaid subscribers can avail the offer after July 1 and enjoy it till September.
The telecom service provider continues its Rs 244 plan for prepaid customers. It offers 1GB of 4G data per day for 70 days and unlimited Airtel-to-Airtel calls (local and STD) with a daily cap of 300 minutes and 1,200 minutes per week (10 paise per minute after crossing the capped limit). Rs 345 4G plan offers 2GB of 4G data for 28 days with unlimited Airtel-to-Airtel calls (local and STD) with a daily cap of 300 minutes and 1,200 minutes per week (10 paise per minute after crossing the capped limit).
It may be noted that post-paid subscribers can avail 30GB of free data plus other benefits enjoyed by pre-paid users for the same amount.
Vodafone
Vodafone has announced SuperNight pack for prepaid users, offering unlimited 3G/4G data and download for five hours at Rs.29, that is just about Rs 6 per hour (price may vary from region to region). It can be availed by dialling *444*4# or purchase via digital channels or retail touch points. It may be noted users can access SuperNight pack (3G/4G data plan) only between 1 am to 6 am though it can be activated even during day time.
The network also has a few running plans like 1GB of 4G data per day or 56GB of data for 56 days with unlimited local and STD calls (cap of 300 minutes per day and 1,200 minutes per week) to its prepaid subscribers at Rs 352.
BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited)
BSNL offers unlimited data to its users for three months (90 days) to the prepaid users under its newly introduced Chaukka 444 aka STV-444 (Special Tariff Voucher-444) data plan at Rs 444. However, the data speed will be reduced to 80 Kbps after 4GB/day.
Rs 339 plan also offers unlimited data with a FLUP of 3GB per day (speed restricted to 80kbps after 3GB/day), unlimited local/STD BSNL to BSNL voice calls, and 30 minutes of free voice calls from BSNL to others network per day (off-net voice calls will be charged at 25 P/Min after free off-net voice calls).
Idea Cellular
The telecom provider recently launched a Rs 396 plan offering 70GB data (1GB per day), unlimited calls within the same network (both local and national) and 3,000 minutes of free calls to non-Idea number (300 minutes per day and 1,200 minutes a week), after which users will be charged 30 paise per minute. Users have to call customer care if they are eligible for the offer, as it is applicable only to select users.
The network offers 1GB of 4G data per day (28GB data) for 28 days along with unlimited voice call and SMS (both local and STD) to any network across India under Rs 348 plan. It may be noted that only 4G handsets and that with 4G-enabled SIM card can avail the offer.