Airtel has upgraded its Rs. 399 prepaid pack to take on the new Jio Rs. 398 plan. Notably, the biggest telecom operator in the country had only recently upgraded the pack - earlier in January to be specific - to boost its validity from 28 days to 70 days. Now, the Airtel Rs. 399 prepaid pack - which offers 1GB of 3G/ 4G data per day, unlimited local, STD, and roaming voice calls, as well as 100 SMSes per day - has been upgraded to offer a validity of 84 days. This puts Airtel on a better footing in its battle against Jio, which claims to have become profitable within 18 months of starting operations.
The new Airtel Rs. 399 prepaid pack's benefits now compete better with those offered by the Jio Rs. 398 pack, and, outdo it in terms of validity. Notably, the Airtel prepaid recharges page shows a 70-day validity for the Rs. 399 pack in initial screens, but reflects the 84-day validity on later screens (as seen in the image below). However, the change has not been rolled out across India yet; users in only the following circles will get the extra validity: AP-Telangana, Delhi-NCR, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Goa, Mumbai, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, UP East, and West Bengal.
Taking a closer look at the Jio Rs. 398 prepaid pack, we see it offers 1.5GB high-speed 4G data per day (post which unlimited access is at 64Kbps) - which is more than Airtel Rs. 399 pack's 1GB of 3G/ 4G data a day - apart from unlimited voice calls, 100 SMSes per day, and a complimentary subscription to Jio apps. The validity of the Jio Rs. 398 pack is 70 days.
Airtel site
Separately, Airtel has also revised its Rs. 149 pack. The new pack is currently only available in a few circles, a Telecom Talk report notes, specifically Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The new pack is said to be the company's cheapest with unlimited call benefits, and offers 1GB of 3G/ 4G data in its 28-day validity alongside 100 SMSes a day. The plan earlier used to offer unlimited voice calls on the same network and access to 1GB of 4G data during the 28-day validity.
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