Airtel vs Reliance Jio data offers: All the free schemes that are on offer

Business Standard reviews latest announcements made by Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio

The data war started in the telecom sector last year with the entry of Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Jio and its disruptive tariffs seems to be in no mood to die down in a hurry. Sunil Bharti Mittal-led incumbent operator Bharti Airtel has constantly been reworking to offer more data to retain its market share and counter Jio's onslaught. Reliance Jio, meanwhile, has revised its old tariff plans and introduced new ones to improve its average revenue per user (ARPU).

Business Standard reviewed the latest announcements made by Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio. Here are the insights:

Reliance Jio

New Plans

Rs 399 plan: Under the new Rs 399, the company offers 1 GB data per day for 84 days to Prime Subscribers. The plan is similar to the Rs 309 one that the company offered under its Dhana Dhan offer.

Rs 349 plan: Under Jio's Rs 349 plan, you get 20 GB data for a period of over 56 days (almost 2 months). No data limit applies.

Revised plans

Reliance Jio has revised its previous Rs 309 and Rs 509 plans announced under the Dhana Dhan offer. The plans now offer 1 GB and 2 GB data per day, respectively, for a total benefit period of 56 days, against 84 days earlier -- the validity period of the plans has been reduced for both.

Revised Premium plans

The Rs 999 plan will now provide 90 GB of data, against the previous cap of 60 GB. And the validity has been revised to 90 days from 60 days earlier. So, this plan now offers 30 GB additional data for 30 more days.

The Rs 1,999 plan has been made valid for 120 days, and the data cap from the previous limit of 125 GB has been raised to 155 GB.

The Rs 4,999 plan will now provide 380 GB data, a 30 GB increase from its previous limit of 350 GB  over a period of 210 days.

The most premium Jio plan, priced at Rs 9,999, now provides 780 GB of data over a period of 1 year and 25 days.

Airtel

Data rollover

Airtel postpaid customers will now be able to roll over their unused mobile data to the next month. This means that their mobile data will never be wasted. The data rollover feature will be applicable from August 1, 2017, onwards.

Postpaid subscribers on the Airtel network can track their usage and data through MyAirtel app. There is a cap of 200 GB on data that the customer can take forward to the next billing cycle under the data rollover offer.

The information on rolled-over data can also be acquired via SMS by sending ‘DATA USE’ to 121

Family Plan for postpaid customers

Airtel postpaid customers no longer need to subscribe to different plans for different family members. They can now buy one postpaid plan for their entire family and save up to 20 per cent on their mobile bills. Users can also pool and share their data benefits across all connections.

The family plan allows members to get a single cumulative bill. Also, under the family plan, members can share internet data, track internet usage of each member and set limits on the usage. The plan also offers unlimited free voice calls among the members.

Airtel Secure

Airtel has become the first telecom company to offer a digital smartphone protection suite, which covers smartphones against accidental and liquid damage. According to the company, if a customer’s device is accidentally damaged, Airtel arranges for a pick-up of the device, gets it repaired from an authorised service centre and delivers it back to the customer. Further, the damage protection is applicable for smartphones up to two years old.

The suite comes along with Norton Mobile Security, which includes anti-malware protection and an app advisor that flags privacy risk. The app allows customers to block spam calls, back up contacts to the cloud, and remotely lock the phone.

Subscribers availing of the Airtel Secure service are eligible to get 2GB of cloud back-up space. A user can claim a maximum of two repairs with an Airtel Secure subscription by paying only Rs 49 a month. 

Free National and International calls

Airtel postpaid customers can now enjoy unlimited incoming calls on national roaming and international roaming.

Free Airtel TV subscription

Postpaid customers will be offered content from Eros Now, HOOQ, Sony LIV, YouTube and Dailymotion for free on Airtel TV app.