Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani unveiled the much-awaited Reliance Jio 4G plans at the recently held 42nd annual general body meeting of the company. Until today, the Reliance Jio 4G service has been available only to select group of customers who have access to smartphones white-listed by the company. However, from September 5, the service will be available to all customers irrespective of the smartphone brand. During the launch event, Ambani revealed that the base XXS plan will cost only Rs. 19 for 0.1GB. He also said that 4G service will also be free for the first 90 days including free voice calls.
With a goal to acquire 100 million customers into the Reliance pockets, Ambani said that the Reliance Jio 4G plans are designed to cater to the requirements of the Digital India initiatives announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also said that a wide range of apps will also be available free of cost until the end of 2017.
The Reliance Jio 4G plan primarily focuses on data. This is because the network is VoLTE based and hence voice is transmitted over data. Hence, customers will be able to enjoy both high-speed data coupled with free voice calls. The data charges are the lowest in India at Rs. 51 per GB.
In this article, we will compare the Reliance Jio 4G plans with Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea. We will examine whether the hyped Jio meets your budget and expectations.
Reliance Jio vs others: 500MB 4G data plan
Reliance Jio offers 300MB of 4G LTE data with unlimited access from 2PM to 5PM at Rs. 149. The plan will be valid for 28 days from the date of activation. However, Airtel and Vodafone offer 500MB (28 days) and 550MB (21 days) at Rs. 144 and Rs. 189 respectively. Ambani should reinvent the wheel when it comes to a low-end 4G data plan. For under Rs. 150, the customer will be able to get 550MB 4G data instead of 300MB.
Reliance Jio vs others: 1GB 4G data
Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea offer 1GB of 4G LTE data at Rs. 259, Rs. 249 and Rs. 253 respectively. However, Reliance Jio only offers 750MB of 4G data with 7-day validity at Rs. 199.
Reliance Jio vs others: 2GB 4G data
Reliance Jio offers 2GB of 4G data at Rs. 299 with a validity of 21 days. Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea also offers 2GB 4G data pack but they are costly at Rs. 455, Rs. 549 and Rs. 453. The 3GB data plans are offered by all companies except Reliance.
Reliance Jio vs others: 4GB 4G data
If you require a 4GB data plan, Reliance Jio is the cheapest since you have to pay Rs. 499 with free unlimited data during night. However, in the case of Airtel and Vodafone, you have to pay Rs. 559 and Rs. 949 respectively. As far as Idea is concerned, you will not find any 4G data plans above 3GB.
Reliance Jio vs others: Same rate for 10GB 4G plan
The interesting point to note is that Airtel, Vodafone, and Reliance Jio offers 10GB 4G LTE at Rs. 999. When it comes to 20GB, Reliance Jio wins because the rate is substantially low at Rs. 1499 when compared to Airtel and Vodafone at Rs. 1999.
Reliance Jio offers 75GB maximum 4G plan
Reliance Jio offers a maximum of 75GB 4G data plan at Rs. 4,999. This plan will be suitable for users who download plenty of files on the go. Upon inspection, we noticed that Reliance Jio offers a wide range of plan to cater to all sections of people. For example, if you are a student you can opt for a plan up to 10GB.
If you are a working professional, you can buy 20GB plan so that you can browse without any limits. If you are an active downloader or e-learning professional, you can opt for 60GB or 75GB 4G data plan. The plans offered by Reliance Jio are exceptionally good. It remains to be seen as to how their 4G service works out in terms of speed and reliability.
