Airtel has introduced a new prepaid recharge pack that offers 1.4GB of 3G/4G data per day alongside unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS and free national roaming. The STV (special tariff voucher) comes with a 28-day validity, and is worth Rs. 219. For the most part, it is identical to the Rs. 199 STV offered for the company, but the major difference between the two is that people subscribing to the former will be able to set unlimited caller tunes (Hello Tunes in Airtel-speak) on their numbers.
While Reliance Jio has changed the Indian mobile landscape beyond recognition over the past couple of years, forcing incumbents like Airtel, Vodafone and idea to offer more reasonably-priced plans, the Mukesh Ambani-led company continues to be at the forefront when it comes to affordability. While Airtel is charging Rs. 20 extra for caller tunes, Jio offers it for free to all its customers, irrespective of the plan they choose.
In fact, Jio also offers significantly more data for the same price, seeing as its Rs 399 plan (Rs. 349 after cashback offers) comes with an 84-day validity and offers 2GB of data per day alongside the now-customary free talk-time and SMSes. On its part, Airtel charges Rs. 249 for its 2GB per day STV, but it comes with a validity of mere 28 days.
The company also upgraded its Rs. 349 plan recently to offer 3GB of daily data instead of just 2GB. Both those packs, of course, come with free talk-time, texts and roaming, like we’ve got to expect these days. With the Airtel – Jio battle heating up in more ways than one, it will be interesting to see how the Indian telecom landscape looks going forward.
