Year 2016 and 2017 can bring some great news for mobile users. With the launch of Reliance JIO many other service providers in the market are feeling the heat. Telecom companies like BSNL, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and others are under tremendous pressure to not lose their market share. Reliance JIO is the first telecom company to bring true 4G services to India with two services namely Reliance JIO and Reliance JIO FTTH. Reliance JIO has already been launched whereas Reliance JIO FTTH (Fiber to the Home) will be launched in mid of 2017.
So there is still a lot of time left. Till then, let us analyse which company among the five offering 4G services has the best plan?
Reliance JIO: Let us start with the Reliance Jio and see how much free data the company is giving to its users. Reliance JIO plan starts with Rs.19/- where you get 0.1 GB of data plus unlimited at night and 0.2 GB WiFi data only at JioNet hotspot. The validity is for just one day. For plan Rs.129/- you get 0.75 GB data plus unlimited at night and 1.5 GB data at JioNet hotspot with a validity of 7 days. Third is Rs.149/- with only .3 GB data (unlimited at night) and 0.7 GB at JioNet hotspot. However the validity is much longer for 28 days. Finally Rs.299/- offers your 2 GB of data (unlimited at night) and 4 GB at JioNet hotspot for 21 days. You can check more tariff plans here for prepaid and post-paid users.
Vodafone: The Vodafone 4G data plans starts with Rs.29/- giving its users 120 MB data for 3 days. Its 1GB 4G data plan will cost you Rs.265/- and will be valid for 28 days. Vodafone 2GB will cost you Rs.465/- and it is also valid for 28 days, whereas Vodafone 3GB will cost Rs.655/- and valid for 28 days. The data plan for 10 GB and 20 GB cost you Rs.1,502/- and Rs.2,499/- respectively with validity of 28 days. All Vodafone data plans are 3G and 4G.
Airtel: Airtel also offers 4G services in major cities across India. An important feature of Airtel plans is that they are not uniform throughout the country - they cost you more if you live in Northern India compared to Southern India. For example 10 GB 4G data plan in Amritsar will cost you around Rs.1998/- (almost Rs 2,000) however the same plan in Bangalore will cost you just Rs.1347/-. Both plans are valid for 28 days. Airtel has 4G plans starting from 500 MB up to 15 GB for Rs.145/- and Rs.1,849/- respectively depending on the city you live in.
Idea: What makes Idea different from Vodafone and Airtel is its Special Offers. Idea’s 1GB 4G data plan comes for Rs.249/-. However the company offers another 4G 1GB free under Special Offer. So you get a total of 2GB data for 4G plan for just Rs. 249/- with a validity period of 28 days. Similarly, for 2GB plan you get another 4G 2GB data free for Rs.448/-. Hence you get 4GB data for just Rs.448/-. Likewise, for all other 4G data plan it is offer same amount for free so you get double 4G speed data for same price. eg the 4G 10 GB data + 10 GB Free data = 20 GB 4G data you get for just Rs.1,346/-. However what happens when special offer is gone.
RCom: Reliance communication has launched its 4G services in collaboration with Reliance JIO. Both companies will use each other’s spectrum for offering 4G services. RCom data plan starts from 1 GB data for Rs.252/- with a validity period of 28 days. Similarly, for 5 GB the price is Rs.851/- and for 10 GB it is Rs.1,349/- valid for 28 days. The speed of RCom is quite similar to currently launched Reliance Jio 4G.
Telenor: Finally let us talk about Telenor - a small player, as far as 4G service is concerned. Telenor’s 4G services is limited to one or two cities in the country. The offer starts with 100 MB data for Rs.11/- valid for just one day. 1 GB data pack would cost you Rs.149/- and 2 GB for Rs.219/- with a validity of 28 days. Plans above 1 GB are combined with benefits like free bundled minutes and reduced call rates.
Which One is the Best?
After reading all this you might be surprised which one you should go for. So let me make it easy for you by drawing a comparison table for all the 4G offers.
4G Services | Starting Plan | 1 GB | 2GB | 10GB |
| Reliance Jio | .1 GB for Rs 19 Valid for 1 day. | Rs 299 for 21 days. | ||
| Vodafone | 120 MB for Rs 29 for 3 days. | Rs 265 for 28 days. | Rs 465 for 28 days. | Rs 1502 for 28 days. |
| Airtel | 500 MB for Rs 145 | Rs 255 for 28 days | Rs 455 for 30 days | Rs 2000 in North and Rs 1347 in South for 28 days |
| Idea Cellular | 1 GB + 1 GB* (Free under special offer) for Rs 249 for 28 days. | 2 GB + 2 GB* (Free under special offer) for Rs 448 for 30 days. | 10 GB + 10 GB* (Free under special offer) for Rs 1346 for 30 days. | |
| RCom | Rs 95 and Rs 252 for 2 days and 28 days respectively | Rs 449 for 28 days | Rs 1349 for 28 days | |
| Telenor | 100 MB for Rs 11 valid for a day | 500 Calls + 1 GB Free 4G data for Rs 249 valid for 28 days | 500 Calls + 2 GB Free 4G data for Rs 319 valid for 28 days |
This is a small comparison between the six companies. Most of them are offering data for similar prices except Idea. Idea is currently offering double data for the price of single data. However, we don’t know how long it will last. For example for 2 GB data (1GB Free) the cost is just Rs.249/- however in the same price range you get only 1 GB of data by other 5 companies in the list. This means Vodafone for Rs.265/- offers only 1 GB of data, Airtel offers 1 GB data for Rs.255/-, RCom offers 1GB for Rs.252/- and Telenor offers 1GB for Rs.249/-. Whereas Idea cellular offers 2 GB 4G data for Rs.249/-. So one can see the difference - not for just 2GB but for 4 GB, 8 GB and 10 GB plans also.Idea’s mantra is buy for one data pack and get one for free.
Why people will not love 4G? Before you get excited about the 4G, you need to know that 4G is not going to excite mobile users. Why? Because there are three major issues that are going to dampen your excitement for 4G.
Reason 1: The providers will not offer true 4G services as promised because speed is going to be the main issue. Call drops will be very frequent.
Reason 2: Because of high speed the data pack is going to exhaust very soon. So to buy another you have to pay more.
Reason 3: There will be device issues as they are not going to be compatible with some devices. Source: ummid.com
