Airtel & Vodafone’s Plans to Fight Jio Prime: Are They Any Good?

Which of these latest plans from Airtel and Vodafone can match up to Jio Prime’s benefits?

Jio Prime offers free voice calling, up to 2GB of 4G data per day for next 11 months. (Photo: The Quint)

Reliance Jio has been quick to realise that few would be willing to pay more than Rs 300 to use its 4G internet, hence the data benefits are critical to their cause. Jio’s Prime move has been partially countered by its rivals Airtel and Vodafone in the past couple of days.

Airtel and Vodafone have already borne the brunt of Jio’s free services in the past two quarters, but they are willing to put all their eggs in one basket just to fight it out with Jio.

Here’s a comprehensive look at the latest plans rolled out by Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone. How do they fare in addressing the needs of users? Let’s start with Jio:

Jio Prime

By subscribing to Jio Prime, existing Jio 4G users get 1GB per day for the next 12 months, and all they have to pay is Rs 303. Those who aren’t part of the Jio family and are keen on joining them post 1 April, can get plans that offer as much as 2.5GB for a month at Rs 303.

Jio Prime is valid up to 28 days for prepaid users, while those who opt for postpaid get 30 days’ (billing cycle) validity.

Also Read: Reliance Jio Prime 4G Is Live for Its Users, Get up to 2GB per Day

Jio Prime Membership:

• Pay Rs 99 for one year to unlock a plethora of benefits on Jio 4G
• Avail Jio Prime between 1 March and 31 March 2017
• Jio Prime members pay Rs 303 per month and get 1GB per day for the next 12 months
• Free access to Jio services like Jio Music, Cinema
• More deals and special benefits exclusive to Jio Prime members

Also, users who recharge on Jio with Rs 303 or Rs 499 plans before 31 March, get additional bonus data worth Rs 201 and Rs 301 respectively.

How the Jio Prime bonus work. (Photo Courtesy: Jio.com)

Airtel 4G

Airtel feels that a Rs 345 plan, which offers 28GB 4G data per month, will satisfy its existing users. They have launched plans priced at Rs 345 and Rs 549, offering 28GB free data for the month – but there’s a catch!

For postpaid users, Airtel will offer free data from 13 March onwards, which can be added to their quota from MyAirtel app. It is also possible that this plan may not be available to all Airtel users in the country.

But Airtel users can only avail these data and voice benefits if they recharge their prepaid packs before 31 March.

Vodafone 4G

Reports like these suggest that Vodafone is offering a Rs 346 prepaid plan for its users in select circles, which is why it is hard to locate the plan on the company’s website and mobile app. Unlike Airtel, Vodafone has been generous with its plan, without any caveats.

Compared to Airtel’s 31 March deadline, Vodafone has limited its benefits for those who recharge with this amount by 15 March this year.

Jio Prime or Stick to Airtel/Vodafone?

Going by the numbers and benefits on offer, Jio Prime trumps both Airtel and Vodafone. Jio is giving free voice calls, no roaming and up to 56GB of data every month till March 2018.

Airtel and Vodafone are trying their best with a new set of plans to compete with Reliance Jio, but are still lagging behind. Also, the lack of clarification as to how Airtel and Vodafone will offer their packs, leaves customers in a fix.

If Jio can get rid of all the voice connectivity hiccups, we might see users switching their base from Airtel/Vodafone to Jio in the coming months.