The Coronavirus outbreak has forced people to lock themselves at homes. The government has revealed that there is a lockdown in 76 districts in the country and has advised people to start working from home.
However, with more people working from home, the data consumption has skyrocketed for sure. People are looking for more data at high speeds so that they can easily work from home. So, what are the telecom operators like Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel, BSNL and MTNL doing about it? Here’s what you need to know.
Reliance Jio
Reliance Jio has also announced that it will provide free JioFiber broadband services to new customers. The company has revealed that it will provide Basic JioFiber broadband connectivity of 10Mbps without any service charges. The brand says that it will provide free broadband service wherever it is geographically feasible. Jio will also provide home gateway routers with a minimum refundable deposit. Earlier, users need to pay Rs 1,500 for the router and Rs 1,000 extra as a security deposit. However, considering the current situations, the operator will charge Rs 1,000 to the new customers.
For all existing JioFiber subscribers, Jio will provide double data across all plans. However, this is not something new as the operator already offers double data benefits with its range of broadband plans in the country as a part of its Welcome offer. However, the Reliance Jio spokesperson told The Mobile Indian that it will offer double data benefits till the situation normalises.
Furthermore, the operator has revealed that it will offer double data benefits to its add-on plans. The Rs 11 pack offers 800MB of data along with 75 minutes of Jio to non-Jio minutes. The Rs 21 add-on pack now offers 2GB of data along with 200 minutes of off-net calls. The Rs 51 add-on pack comes with 6GB of data benefit along with 500 minutes of off-net voice calls. The Rs 101 plan offers 12GB of data along with 1000 minutes of off-net voice calls. However, it is important to note that the validity will remain the same as the existing prepaid plans.
Moving on, the company has also introduced a Rs 251 Prepaid plan for work from home. The plan offers 2GB of data per day and it comes with a validity of 51 days. The pack comes with a price tag of Rs 251. Interestingly, the pack do not offer any calling or SMS benefits.
MTNL
MTNL has revealed that it will offer double data offer on all its broadband plans for people working from home. The operator has revealed that the offer is valid for people living in Delhi and Mumbai. Furthermore, MTNL will offer free installation to new users who will opt for copper-based connections. However, one has to pay for the modem. The double data offer is valid for a month and the state-owned operator various broadband plans with internet speeds ranging from 6 Mbps to 100 Mbps. However, the operator has not revealed any special prepaid or postpaid plans for its customers during the work from the home period.
BSNL
BSNL has said that it will provide free internet to all its customers across the country. The new plan is known as Wok@Home broadband plan and it is free of cost. The company has revealed that it will provide 5GB of data per day with internet speeds of 10 Mbps and once the data limit is exhausted, users can still use the internet at a reduced speed of 1 Mbps. The plan is free and there is no installation or security deposit involved. However, it is important to note that the plan is only available to existing BSNL landline customers. Just like MTNL, the state-owned operator has not introduced any special prepaid plans for its customers.
Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel has not revealed any special broadband plans for its customers working from home. However, the operator has revealed that it will not charge for installation or security deposit for its new users. The company currently offers two affordable broadband plans including Rs 799 and Rs 999 broadband plans that offer up to 100 Mbps along with 150GB and 300GB of monthly data respectively.
Vodafone Idea
Vodafone Idea has announced that it is double data offer on its range of prepaid plans. The company is offering double data on Rs 249, Rs 399 and Rs 599 prepaid plans. To start with Rs 249, users will get 3GB of data per day and it comes with a validity of 28 days. Similarly, the Rs 399 offers 3GB per day with a validity of 56 days, while the Rs 599 prepaid plan offers 84 days validity. All the plans come with unlimited voice calling along with free OTT subscription of Vodafone Play and Zee5.