Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea have all announced rate increases to their usual rates. The new plans will take effect for Airtel and Vodafone customers from December 3, while Jio customers still have the option to continue using existing rates until December 6. Airtel and Vodafone posted a record quarterly loss of Rs 50.921 crore and Rs 28.450 respectively in the third quarter. And the revised tariff plans allow telecom operators to ensure the sustainability of the Indian market. Since the commercial launch of Jio, only Reliance has dominated the telecom space with its aggressive pricing plans that have pushed telecom operators to lower the prices of their Jio rate plans. However, this has not been the case and companies are now paying huge sums while Jio is running close to 500 million subscribers.
Revised Airtel Rate Plans
(Image credit: Jio) Airtel has released its revised rate plans that will be applicable to users from December 3 in India. In addition, the new plans provide additional benefits for customers through Airtel Thanks. Airtel base rates start from Rs 19 with unlimited calls, 100 SMS and 150MB data. This plan remains unchanged and has been taken from the previous list of plans. By switching to the Rs 49 plan, users will get a talk time of Rs 38 and 100 MB with a validity of 28 days. While the telecom operator smartly labels the daily price increase as a 50-peso reduction, the same package was billed Rs 35 earlier, or Rs 14 cheaper than the revised plan. Similarly, the Rs 65 plan, which has a talk time of Rs 130 and 200MB of data for 28 days, has been raised to Rs 79 and now has a talk time of Rs 63.95. The Rs 129 plan, which offered unlimited calls, 300 SMS and 2 GB of data with the benefits of Airtel Xstream, Wynk and Hello Tunes, was revised to R 148 for a validity of 28 days. Airtel combined its Rs 169 and Rs 199 packages into a single Rs 248 package with unlimited calls, 100 SMS and 1.5 GB of data per day. The company also offers Airtel Xstream Premium, a Wynk Music subscription, Hello Tunes access and virus protection as part of Airtel Thanks. Airtel's Rs 249 plan, which offered unlimited calls with 100 SMS and 2GB data/day, was revised to Rs 298 with Airtel Thanks benefits. The Rs 448 package with unlimited calls, 100 SMS and 1,5 GB of data per day has been increased to Rs 598 with a validity of 84 days and additional benefits. Similarly, the old Rs 499 plan with unlimited calls, 100 SMS and 2 GB data per day has been revised to Rs 698 and now includes Airtel Thanks benefits. The annual fee of Rs 998 that offers unlimited calls, 3600 SMS and 12 GB of data has been revised to Rs 1498 with 24 GB of data and additional benefits. Similarly, the annual fee of Rs 1,699 that offers unlimited calls, 100 SMS per day and 1.5 GB of data per day will now cost Rs 2,398 with a validity of 365 days.
Revised tariff plans for Vodafone-Idea
Subsequently, Vodafone-Idea also increased the prices of its existing price plans, as well as the combined coupons. Unlike Airtel, Vodafone-Idea does not offer additional benefits with its revised rate plans. Unlimited packages with a validity of 28 days and unlimited voice calls start at Rs 149 with 2 GB of data and 300 SMS, followed by the Rs 249 package, which offers 1,5 GB of data per day and 100 SMS per day. The packages that offer 2GB and 3GB of data per day cost Rs 299 and 399 respectively. Unlimited Vodafone packages with a validity of 84 days and unlimited calls start at Rs 379 for 6 GB of data and 1000 SMS, followed by the Rs 599 package that offers 1.5 GB of data per day and Rs 699 with 2 GB of data per day and 100 SMS per day. With the new plans, Vodafone offers two annual packages with a validity period of 365 days. The former is priced at Rs.1,499 and offers unlimited calls with 24 GB data and 3,600 SMS, followed by the Rs 2,399 plan that offers 1.5 GB of data per day and 100 SMS per day. In case users lack data, Vodafone-Idea offers combined coupons of Rs 49 and Rs 79 with talk time of Rs 38 and 64 respectively.
Reliance Jio reviewed rate plans
Unlike Airtel and Vodafone-Idea, Reliance has yet to reveal its revised rate plans. However, in a press release, the company announced that its new all-in-one packages would go into effect on December 6 and would be priced 40% higher than its current plans. However, the company reaffirms that customers will receive "300% additional benefits" through its revised rate plans. Reliance Jio is expected to unveil its all-in-one plans this week ahead of the December 6 deadline. Currently, Jio's all-in-one packages start at Rs 149 with 36 GB of data and a validity of 24 days. It is followed by Rs 222, Rs 333, 444 and 555 rate plans with 56GB, 112GB and 168GB data and valid for 28 days, 56 days and 84 days respectively.