Idea Offers Rs. 309 Pack With 1GB Data Per Day, Free Roaming Calls to Beat Jio

Jio has provided telecom subscribers across the country with low-cost data since it launched operations over a year ago. Time and again, incumbent operators have been compelled to match up to its offerings to retain their customers, who have been adopting Jio services in droves, whether it be the inexpensive data or the free calls. After the Diwali Jio plan revision, telecom operators once again had their task cut out, and launched plans to battle the Mukesh Ambani-backed company at new price points. In a step in the same direction, Idea has launched the Rs. 309 plan that provides voice and data benefits for customers seeking 1GB data allocation per day.

The company originally launched the Rs. 357 plan with 1GB data a day and unlimited calls, but soon upgraded the data allocation to 1.5GB per day. The new Idea Rs. 309 plan has 28-day validity, and will take on the Rs. 309 Jio plan that offers 1GB data a day for 49 days. This is the latest salvo from an incumbent telecom operator against Jio, which is being tipped to raise tariffs next year.

The new Idea Rs. 309 recharge pack provides 1GB of 3G data per day, unlimited local and STD calls, free roaming outgoing calls, and 100 SMSes per day. Subscribers who purchase the recharge from the official website or app will get an additional 1GB data for the validity period.

Incidentally, Idea also has a Rs. 347 plan that provides customers with 4G handset with 1GB 2G/ 3G data per day as well as unlimited local and STD calls. However, with this relatively expensive plan, the telecom operator does not offer free roaming outgoing calls and free SMSes, making Rs. 309 plan a more attractive option.

In both cases, the free calls are limited to 250 minutes per day and 1,000 minutes per week; exhausting this limit will entail tariff of 1 paisa per second. Also, users are not allowed to call more than 100 unique numbers in a week; in this case, the calls will be charged at 1 paisa per second.

Jio’s Rs. 309 plan, on the other hand, offers 49GB of bundled data doled out at 1GB per day, free calls, including roaming outgoing, free SMSes and access to Jio apps. Airtel recently updated its Rs. 349 plan to offer 2GB data per day, along with free roaming outgoing, bundled calls across the country, and 100 SMSes per day.