BSNL said users will get the benefit of 'truly unlimited data' under the new STV-444.
State-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has come up with a new plan under which the company is offering 4GB of 3G data per day for a validity of 90 days, at Rs 444. The 'BSNL Chaukka - 444' plan provides 4 GB of 3G data per day for a validity of 90 days, with a total of around 360 GB of data in around three months. Which means that every BSNL user opting for this plan will get 4GB data for nearly Rs 5 per day. Reliance Jio's free voice call offers and aggressive data tariffs have intensified competition in the Indian market, with incumbent telecom operators announcing tariff cuts almost every other day.
BSNL said customers will get the benefit of "truly unlimited data" under the new STV-444. BSNL had earlier offered another STV called "Triple ACE". Priced at Rs 333, the Triple ACE recharge included 3GB of data per day.
Other telecom majors like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea are offering a range of discounts to keep up with the new entrant Reliance Jio. Jio, the telecom arm of billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate Reliance Industries (RIL), is offering a variety of recharge options and plans for its prepaid and postpaid subscribers. While its prepaid recharge packs are priced between Rs 19 and Rs 9,999, Jio's postpaid plans range from Rs 309 to Rs 999 per month.
Under another scheme, Jio is offering 20 per cent extra data on purchase of select smartphones of brand LYF. Jio's '20% More Data Offer' is applicable for both existing Prime members and new customers.
BSNL had earlier expressed concern that it is likely to feel "stress" this financial year because of intense competition. BSNL also asked the telecom department to speed up its receivables.
"BSNL is likely to feel the stress this year... we did not feel it last year," news agency Press Trust of India quoted a senior BSNL official as saying. Asked about the nature of the stress, the official said it was to do with mobility vertical in the face of competition, according to the agency.
Meanwhile, around 90 per cent of Reliance Jio users are estimated to have subscribed to its promotional Prime membership plan, according to a report by global financial services major Bank of America Merill Lynch. Around 76 per cent are ready to continue using Jio's service once the promotional period ends, it added.
"80 per cent of users have only one Jio SIM...90 per cent are Prime members, 84 per cent claim to have paid Jio the monthly top-up as well," BofA-ML added.