BSNL's Rs 118 prepaid plan is no match for Reliance Jio's 98 bundle

After introducing three new prepaid plans with unlimited calls, BSNL has upped the game with a new Rs 118 prepaid plan that gives 1GB free data for a month. Let's find out how it fares against rivals' plans.

The competition in the Indian telecom market is getting more intense as incumbents are in no mood to rest while offering attractive bundles at compelling prices. The trend set by Reliance Jio is now followed by all telcos, including Airtel, Vodafone, and BSNL. Now, the state-run telecom operator has a new plan to take on Reliance Jio and others.

BSNL introduced a new prepaid plan for Rs 118 in several circles including Chennai, Kolkata, and others. Under the new plan, users get unlimited local and STD voice calls and free national roaming apart from Mumbai and Delhi, Telecom Talk reported.

In addition to the voice calling benefit, users get 1GB data for the validity of the plan that is 28 days. The plan also includes free BSNL Signature caller tune activated on the number by default. But the bigger question is how well BSNL's new plan competes against the offers from Reliance Jio and Airtel.

A woman speaks on her mobile phone in front of the logo of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) painted on a wall outside its office in Kolkata, India, August 24, 2017. Picture taken on August 24, 2017.REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

Reliance Jio already offers users Rs 98 prepaid plan which gives unlimited local and STD calls and national roaming for free along with 2GB data for 28 days; users also get 300 free SMS free of cost. The biggest reason why Jio's plan trumps BSNL's offer is the 4G internet connection by the former and 3G browsing and downloads by the latter.

BSNL's offer also comes with limitations in select circles, and it only offers half the amount of data that Jio does at Rs 20 lesser price. BSNL's Rs 118 plan can be pitted against Airtel's Rs 98 prepaid bundle as well.

Airtel offers unlimited voice calls and 1GB 4G data for 28 days at Rs 93. As it turns out, Airtel's offering beats BSNL on the grounds of 4G and affordability. But the state-run telco is soon going to level with its rivals as it has 4G rollout underway.

BSNL also launched three new prepaid plans recently, all of which focus on providing unlimited voice calling benefits. BSNL offers unlimited local and STD calls pan-India as well as free national roaming in all circles, except Delhi and Mumbai, for 10 days at Rs 39. There are Rs 99 and Rs 319 plans with unlimited voice calls to any network without any FUP limit for 28 days and 90 days, respectively. All three plans do not include free data benefits.