Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is attracting new customers after Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone Idea raised their prices. On July 3 and 4, these private telecom companies increased their tariffs by 11-25%, leading to numerous complaints on social media. Hashtags like ‘BSNL ki ghar wapsi’ (BSNL’s homecoming) and ‘BoycottJio’ started trending as a result.
According to The Economic Times, around 250,000 people have switched to BSNL using mobile number portability (MNP) since these tariff hikes. Additionally, BSNL has gained about 2.5 million new connections because their prices are more affordable for low-income users. The most significant price increase was seen with the annual data plans, which went up by Rs 600. The annual plans from Airtel and Reliance Jio, offering 365 days of validity, now cost Rs 3,599, while BSNL offers a similar plan with 395 days of validity and the same amount of data (2GB/day) for Rs 2,395.
The new minimum 28-day plans from Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea cost Rs 199, and Reliance Jio’s costs Rs 189. In contrast, BSNL offers similar plans starting at Rs 108. BSNL also has several monthly plans ranging from Rs 107 to Rs 199, and a Rs 229 plan that includes unlimited data, voice calls, and some OTT apps.
Despite these gains, BSNL remains the fourth-largest telecom company in the country and still struggles to keep up with private players. The company is yet to complete its 4G rollout and lacks 5G infrastructure. However, BSNL plans to start rolling out 5G next year.
Meanwhile, Reliance Jio and Airtel have introduced plans with unlimited 5G data. Any plan providing 2GB of data per day or more will include unlimited 5G data. Reliance Jio has also launched affordable plans starting at Rs 51 that offer unlimited 5G data to complement existing valid plans.
