look news india
Millions of Indian consumers are looking for affordable options after private telecom operators Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel increased their mobile tariffs. Taking full advantage of this changing environment, government telecom company Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has once again created a stir in the market. Keeping in mind the budget smartphone users and especially the cricket lovers, BSNL has introduced a very aggressive prepaid recharge plan under ₹500 with a long validity of around 3 months (84 days). While the prices of 84-day plans of private companies have crossed ₹ 800, this economical bet of the government operator has emerged as a big challenge for Jio and Airtel in the budget segment.
This popular plan from BSNL comes at just ₹485 (and the corresponding circle-specific ₹499 variant), which directly targets users who want to avoid the hassle of frequent recharges. The main benefits available in this plan are as follows:
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Long validity of 84 days: Once recharged, the user does not need any other pack for 84 days, due to which the monthly expenditure comes to around ₹ 160 to ₹ 170.
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Unlimited Local and STD Calling: Absolutely free and unlimited voice calling without any FUP limit on any network (local, STD and national roaming) across the country. Roaming is also completely free on MTNL network of Delhi and Mumbai.
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Daily Data Benefit: In this plan, users are given 1.5GB to 2GB high-speed data per day. Even after the daily data quota is exhausted, the internet does not stop completely, but unlimited browsing continues at the speed of 40 Kbps.
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100 free SMS per day: There is a facility to send 100 national SMS per day to any mobile number across the country.
In view of the upcoming cricket season and tournaments, BSNL has made this plan especially attractive for sports lovers.
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Sufficient Data for Live Streaming: The daily data quota of 1.5GB to 2GB allows cricket fans to watch live cricket matches in HD quality through OTT apps (like JioCinema, Disney+ Hotstar) on their mobile without any interruption.
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Free OTT & Entertainment Bundle: The company is providing complimentary access to BSNL Tunes and exclusive gaming and sports streaming apps with this plan, allowing users to enjoy real-time match highlights and score updates.
After the tariff increase, the gap between 84 day recharge plans of private companies and BSNL has increased significantly:
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Reliance Jio: Jio’s plan with 84 days validity and 1.5GB per day data now starts at ₹799, while the 2GB per day plan costs more than ₹859.
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Bharti Airtel: The pack with 84 days validity and 1.5GB daily data from Airtel costs around ₹859.
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BSNL: At the same time, government company BSNL is providing the same facilities in the range of only ₹ 485 to ₹ 499, which means consumers are getting direct savings of ₹ 300 to ₹ 350.
The attractiveness of this cheap plan of BSNL increases further when the company is rapidly expanding its indigenous 4G network across the country. Under the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, more than 50,000 new 4G sites have been activated so far in collaboration with TCS and C-DOT, and these towers are set to be directly upgraded to 5G through software updates in the future. Due to better connectivity and minimum call drops, now not only in rural but also in urban areas, users are showing interest in porting their number to BSNL (MNP).
Existing BSNL customers can recharge directly from their smartphones through ‘BSNL Selfcare’ mobile app, Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm or the company’s official web portal by choosing the ₹485 or ₹499 pack. Apart from this, this plan can also be activated instantly through the nearest retail store or USSD code. For consumers who want to halve their mobile bill and enjoy cricket with uninterrupted calling, this is the best time to adopt this plan.