To counter competitors, state-run BSNL on Wednesday announced a national unlimited 3G mobile data plan for Rs. 1,099 and doubled the data usage limit in some existing plans.
"Due to improvement in network, BSNL has been gaining customers. We are now first in the industry to offer unlimited 3G plan for Rs. 1,099 without reduction in speed. This will rejoice [sic] our customers and help them experience improved BSNL networks," BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Anupam Shrivastava said.
BSNL added most number of subscribers in April for a third month in a row, as per data released by telecom regulator Trai.
Growth in mobile segment in April was led by BSNL which added 11.39 lakh subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel (9.78 lakh), Aircel (5.72 lakh), Reliance Communications (1.1 lakh), Vodafone (46,600), Quadrant (Videocon Group - 25,012) and MTNL (11,591).
To counter private telecom operators' strategy of slashing data rates by up to 67 percent, BSNL has doubled data usage in Rs. 549 plan for 3G service to 10GB from 5GB.
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"The plan has validity of 30 days and is equivalent to 100 percent increase in data benefits to subscribers," Mr Shrivastava said.
The telecom firm has doubled 3G data usage in Rs. 156 plan to 2GB which will be valid for 10 days.
"Last year, BSNL had also facilitated the customer by offering 80 percent cheaper voice tariff. By massive reduction in data tariff and introduction of unlimited data STVs (Special Tariff Vouchers), BSNL hopes to serve data customers, mainly the youth segment in a much better way," BSNL Board Director (CM) RK Mittal said.
In July, private telecom majors - Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea - increased data usage limit in some of their 3G/ 4G plans by up to 67 percent to counter threat from Reliance Jio which is offering 90 days free unlimited data and phone call service.
Growth in mobile segment in April was led by BSNL which added 11.39 lakh subscribers followed by Bharti Airtel (9.78 lakh), Aircel (5.72 lakh), Reliance Communications (1.1 lakh), Vodafone (46,600), Quadrant (Videocon group firm- 25,012) and MTNL (11,591).
To counter private telecom operators’ strategy of slashing data rates by up to 67 per cent, BSNL has doubled data usage in Rs 549 plan for 3G service to 10 GB from 5 GB.
“The plan has validity of 30 days and is equivalent to 100 per cent increase in data benefits to subscribers,” Shrivastava said.
The telecom firm has doubled 3G data usage in Rs 156 plan to 2 GB which will be valid for 10 days.
“Last year, BSNL had also facilitated the customer by offering 80 per cent cheaper voice tariff. By massive reduction in data tariff and introduction of unlimited data STVs (Special Tariff Vouchers), BSNL hopes to serve data customers, mainly the youth segment in a much better way,” BSNL Board Director (CM) RK Mittal said.
In July, private telecom majors -Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular —— increased data usage limit in some of their 3G/4G plans by up to 67 per cent to counter threat from Reliance Jio which is offering 90 days free unlimited data and phone call service.
In a bid to encounter the threat of extremely affordable Jio 4G data plans and to better the offer provided by the leading telecom operators on their 4G offerings, BSNL has announced truly unlimited 3G data plan at Rs. 1,099.
It is worth noting that this plan doesn’t come with any FUP whatsoever and the subscribers would be able to consume as much as data they want without any reduction in speed. BSNL has also doubled the data usage in many existing plans too. This unlimited 3G plan would be available pan-India starting today.
BSNL has improved its network significantly and is gaining new subscribers now.
“Due to improvement in network, BSNL has been gaining customers. We are now first in the industry to offer unlimited 3G plan for Rs 1,099 without reduction in speed. This will rejoice our customers and help them experience improved BSNL networks,” said BSNL CMD, Anupam Shrivastava.
As per the data released by TRAI, BSNL added the highest number of subscribers in April 2016 for a third month in a row. The state-led telecom operator added 11.39 lakh subscribers while Airtel added 9.78 lakh subscribers. These were followed by Aircel (5.72 lakh), RCom (1.1 lakh), Vodafone (46,600), MTNL (11,591), and Quadrant (-25,012).
BSNL is growing aggressively these days, thanks to its improved network and attractive tariff plans. Here are the updated plans
| Pack Price | Free Bundled Data | Validity |
| Rs. 1099 | Unlimited without any FUP | 30 Days |
| Rs. 549 | 10GB | 30 Days |
| Rs. 156 | 2GB | 10 Days |
BSNL Doubles 3G Data Usage
BSNL has increased 3G data usage in other plans too. Rs. 549 plan would now offer 10 GB data instead of just 5 GB while Rs. 156 plan would offer 2 GB 3G data now instead of 1 GB and would be valid for 10 days.
“The plan has validity of 30 days and is equivalent to 100 per cent increase in data benefits to subscribers,” said BSNL CMD.
“Last year, BSNL had also facilitated the customer by offering 80 per cent cheaper voice tariff. By massive reduction in data tariff and introduction of unlimited data STVs (Special Tariff Vouchers), BSNL hopes to serve data customers, mainly the youth segment in a much better way,” said RK Mittal, BSNL Board Director.
This is not the first time that BSNL is offering truly unlimited data plan. The company had launched truly unlimited 3G plan for Rs. 700 which was later withdrawn. Unlike other operators BSNL doesn’t have any 4G network as of now so it is banking on its 3G service to encounter the threats posed by incumbents.
It remains to be seen how other telcos react to this unlimited 3G plan from BSNL. Would they also start offering similar 3G unlimited plan or would just ignore it and focus only on pricing their 4G data plans competitively? We have interesting times ahead.
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