4G data war: Airtel, Vodafone, Idea counter Reliance Jio with these offers

Telecom industry is witnessing the greatest tariff war of all times

Last year, Mukesh Ambani, the Chairman and MD of Reliance Industries Ltd launched Reliance Jio services offering free VoLTE-based voice calls, apps, sms and high-speed 4G data. Soon after, the incumbents like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea faced the heat that led to the greatest tariff war in telecom sector of all times.

Now, when Reliance Jio trial offer giving free services is over and the telecom major is offering ultra-affordable plans and recharge options to provide free voice, sms, apps and high-speed 4G data, the other telecom giants such as Airtel, Vodafone and Idea are not leaving any loose ends to fight the competition by offering additional 4G data and free calls in existing postpaid and prepaid plans.

Here are the current plans that the telecom giants are offering:

Reliance Jio

Reliance Jio is currently offering three recharge offers to its prime users.

Rs 149 plan: The subscriber gets 2 GB high-speed 4G data for 28 days. In addition, there are free voice calls, Jio apps and 300 sms bundled with the offer.

Rs 309 offer: The subscriber gets 1 GB high-speed 4G data per day for 28 days. In addition, there are free voice calls, sms and Jio apps bundled with the offer.

Rs 509 offer: The subscriber gets 2 GB high-speed 4G data per day complimentary for 28 days. In addition, there are free voice calls, sms and Jio apps bundled with the offer.

For non-Prime members, the telecom operator is offering the above-mentioned plans at Rs 408 and Rs 608 (Jio Prime membership fee and regular recharge price).

The above-mentioned plans are not available for customers already registered for Jio Summer Surprise offer.

Airtel

Postpaid

Airtel is offering up to 30 GB of additional free data for the next three months. The offer can be availed using 'My Airtel' app by April 30. The offer is valid for users who joined Airtel network before 28 February.

Prepaid

Rs 399 plan: Under this pack, users will get 1 GB data per day only if they have a 4G smartphone and SIM card. The free calls incentive comes with a 3,000 minutes cap for a 70-day period. When the minutes gets exhausted, users will be charged Rs 0.10 a minute. For Airtel-Airtel calls, the limit is 300 minutes per day, but 1,200 minutes is the maximum consumption per week.

Rs 345 plan: From 1 GB data per day, Airtel is now offering 2 GB data for the same amount. Similar to the Rs 399 plan, users get the same free calls benefit with a cap. Where earlier, users were restricted to 500 megabyte (MB) from 12am-6pm and the other 500 MB available for rest of the day, the offer now holds no such limitation.

Rs 244 plan: For 4G smartphone and 4G SIM card users, one can get 1 GB date per day for 70 days under fair usage policy.  Although, the offer claims to provide unlimited free STD and local calls, uers get 1,200 minutes on calls made to other networks and 300 minutes of free Airtel to Airtel. Upon full consumption of the free minutes, users will be charged Rs 0.10 per minute.

Vodafone

Rs 352 recharge offer: Vodafone is offering 1GB data per day for 56 days along with unlimited local and STD calls.

The offer is not available on Vodafone website or on the app but the user can avail it by recharging the account with the amount of by visiting the nearby Vodafone store or outlet.

Idea Cellular

Rs 297 recharge: The recharge offers 1GB of data per day for 70 days and is available for users with a 4G SIM and 4G smartphone only. The plan also includes 300 minutes of free calling per day and 1,200 minutes per week to other operators. Post 1,200 minutes the users will be charged at 30 paisa per minute.

Rs 447 recharge:  The recharge offers 1GB of data per day and free calling feature on any network for 70 days limited to 3,000 minutes. Post 3,000 minutes the users will be charged at 30 paisa per minute.