Idea Rivals Reliance Jio, Launches 'Validity Accumulation' Feature: Report

Idea Cellular has launched a new feature called 'Validity Accumulation' to let its prepaid subscribers pay for a long-validity pack now, but activate the same at a later date. Up until now, Reliance Jio subscribers were provided with a 'My Vouchers' feature that allowed them to be charged for a plan at an earlier date. The latest feature comes days after Idea launched a Rs. 398 pack with features such as 1GB data and 100 SMSes per day and free roaming calls for 70 days.

With the Validity Accumulation feature, Idea subscribers can now recharge a long-validity pack that can be activated at a later date, as reports TelecomTalk. For instance, subscribers recharging with the Rs. 398 pack twice will get its benefits for 140 days - 70 more days in addition to the original 70-day offering. If the subscribers opted for the same pack for thrice, the benefits will be available for 210 days. It is worth noting the subscribers will continue to receive the benefits even if the operator has updated its tariffs with new packs.

Idea hasn't revealed any details about how many times a subscriber can use the new feature to opt for benefits on a longer time frame. Likewise, it is unclear whether the feature will be available for all existing Idea packs or just for a handful ones. The telco is also not offering any particular discounts when opting for multiple recharges at once.

Having said that, the latest move by Idea appears to be quite useful for subscribers looking to adhere to a particular pack for a longer time. Operators often add new packs and discard their existing ones.

In May, Reliance Jio took the odd step in the Indian telecom sector and launched 'My Vouchers' as a built-in feature on its MyJio app to help subscribers receive the benefits for an existing offer even at a later date by recharging for the same offer for multiple times. The feature was launched with vouchers of two packs - Rs. 309 and Rs. 509 - but is now supporting three other packs, including Rs. 399, Rs. 459, and Rs. 499.