New Delhi:To take in Jio's run in the telecom market, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has introduced a new 'Maximum' prepaid plan for its users in India. Under this offer, BSNL prepaid customers will get unlimited data access for 365 days and unlimited voice calls (Local and STD) for 181 days at Rs. 999. The new BSNL prepaid plan is available in all circles except North-East India, Jammu and Kashmir, and Assam. This is the latest effort by BSNL - which started its 4G services in January - to keep users from switching to Jio, Airtel, Vodafone and the likes.
As per a tweet by BSNL, citing a TelecomTalk report, the new plan offers free and unlimited data along with free voice call benefits and SMS messages. The BSNL Maximum plan comes with a validity period of 365 days, that is 1 year. However, there are a few changes after the initial 181 days of recharge.
When it comes to the data benefits, BSNL is offering unlimited free data with a 1GB limit per day. Following this, users will get Internet data at 40kbps speeds. In terms of voice calling, all local, STD and roaming calls are free excluding the Delhi and Mumbai circles. Meanwhile, voice calls in Mumbai and Delhi will be priced at 60 paise per minute, under this offer. The tariff, however, changes after 181 days, after which all on-net and off-net calls (home and roaming) will be charged at 60 paise per min.
In the first 181 days, BSNL prepaid subscribers will be able to avail 100 free SMS messages per day. However, after this, users will be charged 25 paise per local SMS and 35 paise per national SMS.
BSNL's Rs. 999 prepaid pack offer counters similarly priced tariffs from Reliance Jio and Airtel. While Jio offers 60GB of 4G data, unlimited voice calling, and 100 SMS per day for a validity period of 90 days, Airtel offers unlimited voice calls including national roaming calls, 100 local and STD SMS per day, 60GB of data on all handsets for 90 days.
BSNL had recently introduced another offer for prepaid subscribers, priced at Rs. 1,099. Under the offer, BSNL prepaid customers get unlimited data access, unlimited voice calls (home and roaming), 100 SMSes per day, and free access to Personalised Ring Back Tone (PRBT) with a validity of 84 days.