Jio, Airtel, BSNL Offers for IPL 2018 Compared

Jio, Airtel, and BSNL are cashing in on the IPL 2018 fever, as the digital revolution has made it possible for anyone with a smartphone to stream all IPL matches online in real-time. Jio and BSNL have launched exclusive IPL recharge packs for their subscribers, while Airtel is letting its customers stream the live matches and highlights without paying any additional costs. These plans cover the full 51 days of the tournament, and give easier access to the live streaming of matches. We take a look at the details of the plans offered by Jio, Airtel, and BSNL for the IPL 2018.

Jio IPL 2018 recharge pack

Jio has launched a new IPL 2018 recharge pack with 102GB of bundled data and validity of 51 days, the duration of the T20 extravaganza. The Jio pack is priced at Rs. 251, and is aimed at providing users the option to stream IPL 2018 matches. It comes with a daily cap of 2GB 4G data per day, so if the allocated data is not consumed within the day, it will not be carried over. However, subscribers are not restricted to just streaming cricket matches under this pack, and can choose to use the data on any online content.

Apart from the new prepaid pack, the telco has a new Jio Cricket Play Along live mobile show, and the Dhan Dhana Dhan Live show on MyJio app hosted by former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag.

How to Watch IPL 2018 Live Online

BSNL IPL 2018 recharge pack

BSNL has one-upped Jio by offering an IPL 2018 recharge pack with more data per day and still undercutting it (marginally) on price. The new Rs. 248 pack will give subscribers 3GB data per day, with validity of 51 days. Customers can purchase the pack only till April 30, even though the tournament continues till May 27. Of course, Jio has a 4G-only network, while the BSNL network largely offers 3G speeds only, with just Kerala circle having 4G speeds.

Airtel TV app free IPL 2018 live stream

Airtel has taken a different route for offering IPL 2018 content to subscribers. Instead of new recharge packs, the country’s biggest telecom operator is providing free access to live matches and match highlights for the T20 tournament via the Airtel TV app. This comes courtesy the recent partnership between Hotstar and Airtel, wherein the former’s content — including IPL and Asia Cup — will be available for the operator’s subscribers free of cost under the new cricket section.

All Airtel users - prepaid or postpaid - get free access to the app till June 30, 2018; there will also be games and contests. All you need to do is to update the app to the latest version and visit the Cricket section, which will redirect you to the Hotstar app with a free viewing "pass". Also, you need to have an Airtel 4G SIM card.

There is also a new Rs. 499 recharge pack by the operator that provides 2GB data per day for 82 days, along with unlimited local and STD calls, as well as free roaming and 100 SMSes per day.