Bharti Airtel ups 4G ante with extra data on new dongles

Bharti Airtel is reportedly offering extra data for new customers buying a new 4G dongle or hotspot device, a move aimed at increasing its 4G subscriber base at a time when Reliance Jio has already garnered around 73 million 4G users.

While purchasing a new 4G dongle, users will be asked to choose between four different packs starting from Rs450 and going up to Rs1,500, TelecomTalk reported citing sources.

The report said that Rs450 rental pack now offers 8GB of data, instead of 4GB. Similarly, the Rs650 plan now offers 12GB of 4G data, up from 6GB. The Rs999 pack offers 20GB of data, while the Rs1,500 plan offers 40GB of 4G data against the previous 20GB. These plans come with three months validity.

Bharti Airtel, India's largest telco, recently made a concerted bid to poach 4G customers from rivals, launching a special offer that allows additional 3GB of data each month for a year for customers who switch to its services from rivals and opt for mid-to-high end plans.

Airtel's mobile offer for more data at same price points – for subscribers to its Rs345 pre-paid plan and for those post-paid users opting for plans starting with Rs549 – is aimed at increasing its 4G customer base at a time Reliance Jio has notched up more than 50 million 4G users and is aggressively trying to ramp that up to 100 million through free voice and data services.

The offers, which have free unlimited voice bundled in, is available to consumers from 4 January till 28 February, with subscribers getting 3GB data free every month till 31 December, over and above what is available in the usual plan, Airtel recently said.