State-run telecom major BSNL, long denied 4G spectrum, has finally begun to take the fight to rivals like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea with the launch of two new plans for subscribers which offer 10 gigabyte (GB) of 4G mobile data daily.
According to sources, the special tariff vouchers (STV) will only be available in the regions or circles where BSNL offers 4G services and they will provide only data consumption without any voice offerings bundled, as most telecom companies have begun doing after the launch of Reliance Jio and its free voice call plans in September 2016.
According to sources, the state-run telecom major has rolled out two new plans for 4G customers offering a whopping 10 GB mobile data free per day.
Under the first, subscribers will be charged Rs 96 for 28 days of validity and the second, for Rs 236, will offer 84 days validity.
However, BSNL is offering these new prepaid plans only in places where it has slowly rolled out 4G services. BSNL recently also revised its Rs 1,098 prepaid plan with 75 days validity.
So far, BSNL 4G services are available to customers in places like Gandhidham and Anjar towns of Gujarat, the Akola, Bhandara, Beed, Jalna, Osmanabad and other nearby regions of Maharashtra and certain circles in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The company is also rolling out 4G services in Chennai, Nagpur, Bhiwapur, Vijayawada and more regions in a phased manner.
BSNL has been steadily revising and rejigging its offerings in order to accelerate the acquisition of users amidst intense competition in the segment. Earlier, the company revised its prepaid plan of Rs 1,098 offering a total of 375GB data for 75 days and revised its long-term prepaid plan of Rs 1,699 offering 2GB data per day, unlimited local, STD and roaming calling and 100 SMS per day for 455 days of validity.
According to analysts, though BSNL’s plans do not offer bundled voice services, the Rs 96 plan is one of the cheapest data offerings in the market, offering a total of 280 GB during the period of validity while the Rs 236 plan offers a whopping 840 GB of data over 84 days.
“BSNL, despite its financial woes, has been the only other telecom player apart from Reliance Jio that has been adding to its user base. The other incumbents have steadily lost users since the advent of Reliance Jio. With revamped data offerings, BSNL may well be on the path of recovery if its financial problems are sorted out as expected,” said an industry expert.