BSNL joins telecom price wars, offers 10 GB data at Rs249

After Reliance Jio announced the extension of its free services beyond 1 April (See: RJio extends free Jio Prime Membership by another three months), state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has launched an impressive scheme which provides 10 GB of data per day at just Rs249, and is by far the most offered by any major telecom company in India.

The plan however does not provide free calling at all times. Unlike Jio, BSNL free voice calling will only be available between 9pm and 7am on weekdays and all day on Sundays. Apart from that, the speed offered by BSNL won't be able to compete with Reliance Jio and other major 4G network providers.

The data speed for this plan will be limited to 2Mbps. There is no confirmation regarding the drop in speeds after the daily limit is reached. But still this is easily one of the cheapest data plans any major telecom company has to offer at the moment.

Reliance Jio has also offered a new Summer Surprise. Under this, users will get 3 months of data service at the cost of one month. The free services on Jio will remain available till the end of this month.

Other major operators are also gearing up for this extended tariff war. Cellular operators' body COAI has said Reliance Jio's latest pricing will continue to bleed the industry and there is a risk of cascading impact on banks and others that have large exposure to the telecom sector.