With Reliance Jio preparing to step into the broadband playing field, all the other major broadband service providers are also stepping up their game and making their offerings even more attractive for the subscribers. One of the names which pop up in this list is of Bharti Airtel. Now, Bharti Airtel has been a renowned broadband service provider, but to build a moat for the brand before the launch of Jio GigaFiber, the service provider is offering many alluring things for its broadband subscribers like free content offerings, subscriptions, and even extra data with no FUP. On taking a closer look at the plans being offered in various cities across India, we found that Airtel is offering very price-worthy plans with unlimited data.

Unlimited Data Airtel Broadband Plan in Delhi

Firstly speaking about the capital, in Delhi, the Sunil Bharti Mittal led telecom operator is offering unlimited data in its high-end plan of Rs 1,999. The Rs 1,999 broadband plan by Airtel also offers unlimited local and STD calls in addition to unlimited data as well. The internet speeds which the subscribers will get to enjoy as part of this plan would be up to 100 Mbps. This plan will also bundle free Netflix and Amazon Prime subscription as well to make this offering even more attractive. In line with Airtel’s already existing offer, the subscribers will pay Rs 1,699 per month for this plan if they take the 6-months subscription and they will pay Rs 1,599 per month for the subscription if they take the annual subscription.

Unlimited Data Airtel Broadband Plans in Hyderabad

In Hyderabad, the subscribers will enjoy even more benefits as the unlimited data offer does not remain limited to the top-end plans only. The Rs 349 plan, Rs 449 plan, Rs 699 plan and the Rs 1,299 plan, all offer unlimited GBs to the customers. However, the only plan offering up to 100 Mbps speed in Hyderabad is the Rs 1,299 plan. This plan also ships free Netflix and Amazon Prime subscription similar to the Rs 1,999 plan in Delhi.

Unlimited Data Airtel Broadband Plans in Mumbai

In another metro city, Mumbai, we also have the Rs 1,999 plan by Airtel broadband which is precisely similar to the one being offered in Delhi, and it bundles unlimited data with up to 100 Mbps speed, free Netflix and Amazon Prime subscription and unlimited local and STD calls as well. However, in addition to this, there is another high-end plan priced at Rs 2,199, which offers speeds of up to 300 Mbps but only offers 1,260GB data instead of unlimited data. However, for six months, the subscribers will be able to enjoy 1000GB additional data.

Extra Perks Being Offered with Airtel Broadband Plans

It is worth noting that because of the competition which is going to heat up in the broadband industry in the coming months, the Airtel broadband plans have become more attractive for the consumers. High-end plans are offering unlimited data at 100 Mbps, and also Airtel is offering 1000GB additional data on its other plans, which is valid for six months. The telco is also offering a 15% discount on semi-annual broadband subscriptions and a 20% discount on annual broadband subscriptions. Not only this, but a lot of Airtel broadband plans also ship free Netflix and Amazon Prime subscription as well.

There are a few major reports in India, which decide the ranking of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and give us an idea at large about the situation of speed, service reliability and more. One of such reports is the Netflix ISP Index, and unlike other reports, it has a unique way of measuring speeds. The Netflix ISP Index is a measure of Netflix Prime Time performance on particular internet service providers. This is what sets this test from Netflix apart from other tests which calculate the performance of ISPs on different parameters. Now, Netflix has released the ISP Index report for April, and we can see the ranks of various ISPs in India. And Reliance Jio GigaFiber is leading the chart for the eight consecutive time.

Reliance Jio GigaFiber Ranks First

The first noticeable thing on the Netflix ISP Index Leader board is the top position of Reliance Jio GigaFiber. However, there is also one interesting thing to note, and that is the reduction of speed for Reliance Jio GigaFiber. Under the fibre category, Reliance Jio was providing 3.49 Mbps of speed to its customers during Netflix Prime Time as opposed to the previous speed of 3.57 Mbps in the last measure, and this was through a fibre connection only. There was a decline of almost 0.08 Mbps in the speed, but Reliance Jio maintained its lead.

Airtel Ranks Fourth on Netflix ISP Index April 2019

On the second and third number, we have Spectranet and 7 Star Digital with 3.43 Mbps and 3.41 Mbps. Now in the previous rankings, the situation was reversed for the second and third rank, as Spectranet was on the third number and 7 Star Digital scored the second rank. Finally, on the fourth rank, we get to see the major Indian telecom operator, Airtel with an average speed of 3.29 Mbps during Netflix Prime Time closely followed by Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT Fibernet) on fifth place with 3.16 Mbps speed.

BSNL and MTNL Occupy 13th and 14th Place

Other major players like YOU Broadband were ranked at sixth place with an average Netflix Prime Time speed of 3.04 Mbps. Hathway, which is a major broadband and DTH provider, stands at the seventh position on the Netflix ISP Index charts with an average speed of 2.97 Mbps. Alliance Broadband, which is also another popular name in the broadband service provider sector, secured the 11th position, which remains unchanged right now with an average speed of 2.54 Mbps. Lastly, state-led telecom operators, BSNL and MTNL rank 13th and 14th on the list with 1.97 Mbps for BSNL and 1.88 Mbps for MTNL.

Key Takeaway from Netflix ISP Index April 2019

The crucial thing to note from the Netflix ISP Index of April 2019, is the prominence of Reliance Jio GigaFiber. Even before the commercial launch of the service, the Mukesh Ambani led telecom operator is asserting its dominance in the broadband sector. Now although the speeds are expected to decline for GigaFiber once the service is rolled out to more and more customers and as the network bandwidth is shared, still the FTTH service has been expected to bring heavily increased competition in the sector. There is also a chance that we might see Spectranet surpass the speeds of GigaFiber in the coming months given the current trend.

It seems that even though the consumers are paying a premium for their broadband service and shifting to higher speed fibre-based broadband plans to experience better services, it might still be hard for them to get any assurance about speed, says an ET Telecom report. The telecom operators are of the opinion that there can’t be a minimum bar set for the broadband speeds. This means that no matter what the consumers pay for a broadband connection, they still run the risk of encountering a snail-pace connection and what the companies are saying is that there is very little that subscribers can do to change this.

Experts Agree to Telcos’ Opinion

Currently, the rule for mobile broadband set by the government says that the providers should provide 512 Kbps of speed. However, there can’t be any change to this rule as telecom companies, and experts are saying that setting a minimum speed is not technically possible, not only in India but also anywhere in the world. Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents all major telcos of the country including Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel, Rajan Matthews said, “In a point to multi-point mobile network, no network operator, in India or globally, can guarantee a certain minimum download speed.”

Matthews said that the actual speed that the consumers experience depends on a large number of factors including but not limited to coverage, network load, usage, location of the user in the cell, the application being used and also the device which they are using to access the internet. The thing to note is that the telecom operators aren’t the only one saying this, but third-party speed testing agencies like Ookla and Open Signal have also agreed to this stating that guaranteed data speeds are a tough thing to nail and it isn’t the case in India only, but even internationally as well.

Broadband Speeds as a Result of Multiple Factors

Opensignal chief executive Brendan Gill, attributed to the company’s findings on 4G speeds and networks and said “No operator has managed to provide LTE (4G) connections to users 100% of the time, even in the most mature mobile markets. This alone means it’s near-impossible to guarantee network speeds.” He was also of the opinion that there are many other issues like latency and the quality of smartphones, which plays a critical role in the kind of experience which users get to see while on the internet. This becomes further complicated as video streaming, online gaming, live messaging, and video calling becomes popular.

Consumers are of a different opinion as they believe that the telecom operators are not giving promised speeds to them. In such a situation, they want the promise of minimum speed. Even then, Ookla’s speed testing data has revealed that internet speeds in India have increased by as much as 20% in 2019. However, in global speed rankings, India has slipped from 112 to 121 as the other countries witnessed a faster increase in their speeds.

Sunil Bharti Mittal led telecom operator Bharti Airtel has made a massive revamp to its postpaid plans recently, and now, it seems that the operator might be looking forward to introducing changes to its broadband plans as well. In addition to some changes, we might be getting to see new plans in the Airtel broadband roster too. One of the popular cities of Hyderabad for Airtel broadband has also got three plans in total now with the third one being the Rs 1,599 plan which offers up to 300 Mbps speed and 600GB data. To recall, Airtel removed the 300 Mbps broadband plan in Hyderabad a few months back, but it has now been introduced again with a monthly FUP limit. Previously, this plan was available in other circles, and now it is available for Hyderabad customers too. Here are the other broadband plans from Airtel, which are effective from June 1, 2019.

Rs 799 Airtel Broadband Plan

This plan offers significantly more data as compared to the previous plan with 100GB + 200GB bonus data, thus totalling the data offering at 300GB. The plan also offers unlimited calling and speeds up to 40 Mbps. The 15% semi-annual subscription discount and 20% annual discount will be applicable on the Rs 799 plan too. The bonus data is valid for six months and it’s decreased from 500GB to 200GB this time around.

In cities like Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, the Rs 799 plan is being offered at Rs 699 with no FUP limit and the same 40 Mbps speeds.

Rs 1,099 Airtel Broadband Plan

This plan by Airtel broadband offers 300GB of data along with additional bonus data of 500GB valid for six months. The speeds offered by this plan is 100 Mbps and it also ships with unlimited calling functionality. The Rs 1,099 plan also comes with data carryover feature, and it offers unlimited calling too. Additional benefits of this plan include free Netflix subscription and one year worth of Amazon Prime membership too.

Rs 1,599 Airtel Broadband Plan

There’s a Rs 1,599 broadband plan from Airtel that offers 600GB of data and 1000GB of additional data which will be valid for six months. Users will also get unlimited voice calling, data rollover, Netflix and Amazon Prime subscriptions with this broadband plan. And there’s a 15%, 20% discount offer as well on six, 12 months subscriptions.

Rs 1,999 Airtel Broadband Plan

The best thing about the Rs 1,999 broadband plan from Airtel is that it comes with unlimited data and unlimited calling. The speed available to the consumers is up to 100 Mbps. Additional benefits in this plan also include one year of Amazon Prime membership and a free Netflix subscription.

Note: These are the common broadband plans from Airtel available across most of the cities like Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, Chennai and so on. In some South Indian cities like Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, there are three plans of Rs 699, Rs 1,299 and Rs 1,599. The Rs 699 and Rs 1,299 broadband plans come without any monthly FUP limit, while the Rs 1,599 broadband plan ships with 300 Mbps speeds and 600GB FUP limit along with 1000GB bonus data. As noted, Airtel has brought back the 300 Mbps plan to several cities.

The Indian telecom watchdog, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has said that it plans to set in place pre-launch network testing rules for wired broadband operators similar to how they exist for mobile services. It is worth noting that Trai has very clear rules defining how long a mobile service provider can offer free services and how many subscribers it can amass in this period, but there are no such rules in place with Trai for wired broadband service providers. In the coming days now, the industry regulator is expected to follow up with a consultation process to draft rules for these wired broadband service providers.

Reliance Jio Currently Conducting Trials for GigaFiber FTTH Service

As per a mint report, an anonymous person aware of the matter said, “Trai will start the consultation on this…the process will take six months at least.” These new rules would come before the commercial launch of the Reliance Jio GigaFiber, the new FTTH (fibre-to-the-home) service announced by the Mukesh Ambani led telecom operator, Reliance Jio Infocomm in 2018. As such, Reliance Jio will then be under the scrutiny before the launch of its GigaFiber service wired broadband service.

It is worth noting that currently, Reliance Jio has been offering free 100 Mbps internet to homes in many metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai only against a security deposit of Rs 4,500. This has been going on for two years and is part of Reliance Jio’s trials for GigaFiber before the service goes live officially in other cities of the country. To recall, Reliance Jio had announced the launch of the service in its 41st annual general shareholders meeting in July 2018. Currently, the latest update about the service says that it will be rolled out to 1,600 cities and as for the tariff of the service, we know that the telco will be providing a Triple Play plan to the subscribers offering a broadband-landline-TV combo service for Rs 600 a month.

Rules for Wired Services Testing Will Regulate Telcos like Reliance Jio

In December 2017, Trai had introduced rules for wireless network testing mandating that operators should be given only a maximum of 90 days for concluding network testing. Also, this new rule had mandated that the total number of subscribers enrolled for network testing should be limited to 5% of its installed network capacity for that area.

These rules were put in place after the incumbent telcos had asserted that the regulator had failed to keep a check on the regulations related to wireless network testing after the entry of Reliance Jio in the market in 2016. The telecom operators had said that Reliance Jio was enrolling subscribers at an unprecedented rate under the name of test connections. Now that Reliance Jio is on the verge of launching a new service, the telecom regulator thinks that the rules for wired broadband testing should also be brought into effect.

It is now well known that before Mukesh Ambani led telecom operator, Reliance Jio introduces its Fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) service in the market, all the other telecom operators and broadband service providers are gearing up. The situation is specially developing towards an interesting turn for broadband service providers. Hathway is also one player in this segment which has leveraged its vast cable connectivity to bring broadband for its customers too. But, now, of course, the company has a majority stake owned by Reliance Jio itself. After the merger, the company has been offering attractive broadband plans in major cities of India, some of them even come with unlimited FUP.

Hathway Broadband Plans in Hyderabad

In the city of Hyderabad, Hathway offers six broadband plans to its customers, and all of them come with no FUP whatsoever. The cheapest plan starts with the Hero plan offering 50 Mbps speed and is available for Rs 349 under the Value subscription plan. There are also Gold and Blast options available which come for Rs 399 and Rs 499 monthly rental. Similarly, there are other plans like Super which offer 25 Mbps speed and come with a monthly rental of Rs 349 and Rs 399 in different tiers. The Lightning plan offers 75 Mbps speed with a monthly rental of Rs 349, Rs 399 and Rs 449 under different tiers. The 80 Mbps Rapid plan comes for Rs 349, Rs Rs 399 and Rs 499 respectively.

100 Mbps and 125 Mbps Plans in Hyderabad

Finally, there are also the Freedom and Thunder plans in the Hathway broadband portfolio which offer 100 Mbps and 125 Mbps speed respectively. The first plan out of the two is available for Rs 499, Rs 549 and Rs 599 for the three tiers, whereas the Thunder plan with the highest 125 Mbps speed is available for Rs 549, Rs 599, and Rs 649 for the three tiers. It is worth noting that for all the above plans, Hathway also offers six monthly and annual subscription plans as well.

Hathway Broadband Plans in Kolkata

It is worth noting that Hyderabad is one of the regions, where Hathway is offering broadband plans without any FUP. In other regions like Kolkata, the broadband service provider ships plans with monthly FUP and no monthly FUP rental options. The only plan in the Kolkata region with no FUP is the Freedom 25 plan with 25 Mbps speed. In Kolkata region, Hathway also provides 200 Mbps Turbo 200 plan which is available with 1000GB FUP data and an after FUP speed of 5 Mbps. The plan’s monthly rental is Rs 5,997 for 3 months, Rs 11,994 for 6 months and Rs 23,988 for a year. In Kolkata, Hathway also provides the HD Stream 150 plan with 150 Mbps speed and the Value 100 plan with 100 Mbps speed.

Before the commercial launch of Reliance Jio GigaFiber, the broadband sector is seeing a plethora of new plans from all service providers shipping unlimited data, high speed and other additional benefits. Some of the more prominent players in the field are gearing up, and these names include Airtel, BSNL and ACT Fibernet. However, You Broadband is not far behind in this list. The company has got operations in many big cities of India including Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Valsad, Vapi and more. In the Hyderabad region, the service provider has started offering 100 Mbps plan, which comes with unlimited data. Here are more details that you need to know about the plans being offered by You Broadband.

You Broadband 100 Mbps Plan Details

Speaking of the high-speed broadband plans available in the Hyderabad region from You Broadband. The company is offering 4 options for the 100 Mbps plan. The first pricing is for the 30-days validity broadband plan with 100 Mbps speed which is available for Rs 944. This plan by You Broadband offers unlimited data, so the users won’t have to worry about finishing their data FUP limit.

You Broadband is also offering 90 days, 180 days and 360 days options for its subscribers too. The 100 Mbps broadband plan with unlimited data is available to the subscribers with 90 days validity for Rs 2,744. The 180 days validity broadband plan will cost the subscribers Rs 5,133 for the entire period and lastly, the 360 days validity plan will set back the subscribers by Rs 9,558 in the entire year.

You Broadband Plans Offering Speeds More than 100 Mbps

You Broadband is also offering higher speed plans as well which ship 150 Mbps and 200 Mbps speed as well. The 150 Mbps plan is also available in 30-days, 90-days, 180-days and 360-days option offering 1000GB, 3,300GB, 7,200GB and 15,600GB respectively. The plan provides an after-FUP speed of 5 Mbps. For the above-mentioned validity periods, the subscribers will have to pay Rs 1,403 for 30-days, Rs 4,209 for 90-days, Rs 8,418 for 180-days and Rs 12,036 for 360 days.

The highest speed that You Broadband offers is 200 Mbps. For the four validity options, the plan costs Rs 1,673, Rs 5,019, Rs 10,038 and Rs 13,452. The after FUP speed in this plan also 5 Mbps similar to the above mentioned 150 Mbps plan. In the You Broadband portfolio, the customers in Hyderabad will also have the option of subscribing to other unlimited data plans like 15 Mbps, 30 Mbps, 50 Mbps, 75 Mbps and 100 Mbps.

ACT Fibernet has made up a name for itself in the Indian market over the last couple of years. It’s the first Internet Service Provider (ISP) to launch Gigabit wired internet in the country and it’s still the sole operator in several cities offering such incredible speeds. But ACT Fibernet is not stopping with just gigabit internet speeds; Well, the company wants to offer more to its subscribers so that they can enjoy high-speed wired broadband. In the process, ACT Fibernet has introduced a new streaming device, namely, the ACT Stream TV 4K and it takes on the Fire TV Stick 4K dongle from e-commerce giant Amazon. For the starters, the ACT Stream TV 4K device is an Android TV-based box that comes bundled with various OTT apps like Hotstar, Netflix, ZEE5, Sun NXT, HOOQ, Hungama Play and so on. Not only that, the Stream TV 4K supports 4K content and allows users to install all the Android TV apps directly from Google Play Store.

Over the last one year, we have seen broadband operators launching such Android TV-based devices to the subscribers. First, it was Hathway which partnered with Netflix and launched Hathway Playbox device. And very recently, we have seen Asianet (local operator in Kerala) coming up with a similar device called Magic Box Android TV set-top box. ACT Fibernet wants to be in the race as well, which is the reason why we have ACT Stream TV 4K hybrid Android TV-based set-top box. I have been using the ACT Stream TV 4K for nearly a week and here are my impressions on the same.

ACT Stream TV 4K: Hardware Specifications and In-Box Contents

First of all, let’s discuss the hardware specifications of the Android TV box from ACT Fibernet. As the name itself suggests, this device from ACT Fibernet runs on Android TV platform and has support for 4K. This essentially means if your TV supports 4K resolution, you can stream supported content in the said resolution. A couple of years back, 4K TVs in India used to cost at least over Rs 75,000, but now, the scenario is entirely changed as we can get 4K televisions from brands like Kodak, Xiaomi, Vu for less than Rs 50,000. That being said, there’s not much of 4K content available on the web though, but do make a note that the 4K content portfolio is growing across the country, so it’s good that the ACT Stream TV 4K supports it.

This device has support for Dolby Audio, which is again something very essential for some users out there. Talking about the technical specifications, the ACT Stream TV 4K is powered by a HiSilicon 3798M V200 chipset, coupled with 2GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage. It has Widevine support for streaming content in HD. The device supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi bands. As for the ports, there are two USB ports, one Ethernet port, one HDMI port, one AV port and one microSD card slot.

And inside the retail box, we get the ACT Stream TV 4K box, voice-assistant enabled remote, a power adapter, LAN cable, HDMI cable that connects your TV and the box, and an RCA cable.

The device runs on the Android TV platform based on Android 9 Pie with support for Google Play Store. Users can install over 3000 apps from the Play Store and there’ support for Chromecast as well.

ACT Stream TV 4K: How to Set Up

The setup process is extremely simple and straightforward. As mentioned above, ACT Fibernet is bundling an HDMI cable inside the retail box which can be used to connect the Stream TV 4K to your television. The first step is to connect the box to a power source, then connect your TV with the box using the bundled HMDI cable. And now, select the HDMI source on your television. If your TV has multiple HDMI ports, make sure to select the port which you’ve connected the ACT Stream TV 4K.

Next up, just follow the on-screen instructions and do make a note that the ACT Stream TV 4K requires a working Wi-Fi connection for the entire setup process.

At the end of the setup process, ACT Fibernet will ask you to log into the Stream TV 4K with your ACT Fibernet account details. By doing so, you will be able to subscribe to the offers inside the Stream TV 4K through your ACT Fibernet account.

ACT Stream TV 4K: Content and Live TV Service Details

Being an Android TV-based box, the ACT Stream TV 4K comes bundled with all the popular streaming apps like Hotstar, Netflix, ZEE5, Hungama Play, SonyLIV, HOOQ, Yupp TV and so on. Sadly, there’s no Amazon Prime Video app though, but you can easily sideload the app like me, and it’s working absolutely fine. That being said, you’ll have to separately subscribe to all the services mentioned above to view them on the Stream TV 4K. The company is running some offers to ACT Fibernet subscribers at the moment; Users can avail one-month of ZEE5 premium membership and two months of HOOQ subscription for free. After logging into their ACT Fibernet account, these subscriptions will get activated automatically if they haven’t redeemed them in the past.

While launching the ACT Stream TV 4K, the ISP has touted a lot about the Live TV service which will be available with the device. Well, there’s a separate Live TV section inside and the channels can be viewed for free. There are some Live TV channels from ACT Fibernet like ACT TV, ACT 24*7 News HD which can be viewed for free. On the whole, ACT Fibernet is providing 281 channels; While some of these channels can be viewed for free, some of them requires a subscription. Under the offers section, there’s a channel pack called ACT Starter Pack which gives access to all the Live TV channels inside the ACT Stream TV 4K. And the Starter Pack subscription period will be 30 days. And yes, there’s the Catch Up TV service as well which allows you to watch the content happened in the last 24 hours.

ACT Stream TV 4K: Performance and Software

For those who already used an Android TV-based device, the software experience will be pretty much similar. On the home screen, you’ll be presented with all the apps installed in the box along with sections like Home, Apps & Games, Live TV and ACT’s dedicated Offers section. Being an Android TV-based box, the setup process is extremely simple as you can import all the Google account settings via your phone.

As for the performance, it’s decent I would say, but it’s not blazing fast. When you open the pre-installed apps, the ACT Stream TV 4K handles them with ease, but the third-party apps like the Amazon Prime Video get a little bit sluggish. Browsing through the Live TV channels is also very smooth and there’s no lag at all while playing the content, subject if you have a faster internet connection.

Another thing worth noting is the remote of ACT Stream TV 4K. The remote works over Bluetooth and it has voice assistant support as well. Being an Android TV box, every task can be done through Google Assistant and it’s very accurate as well. The remote is very easy to use and has just 12 buttons with quick button access to Netflix, Google Play, YouTube and Live TV.

ACT Stream TV 4K: Verdict

The ACT Stream TV 4K is the first generation product from ACT Fibernet and it’s good so far. The company right now is providing the device on a test run to ACT Fibernet broadband users and our unit was provided by the company for review purpose. It performed well during my usage and the Live TV service is something very interesting. Even though the company is charging Rs 50 every month for some channels, the catalogue might grow over the period, and who knows, it might be worth in the future.

As for the retail pricing, the ACT Stream TV 4K costs Rs 4,499, slightly lower than the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K model. And it’s worth every penny in my opinion, subject if you’re looking to ditch your DTH or Cable TV connection. However, the device is still available on a trial basis and it’ll be interesting to see when it’ll be available for purchase. If you’re an ACT Fiberner user, head over to the company’s website to get your hands on ACT Stream TV 4K.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has been on a spree lately. The government led telecom operator is still not giving up on its subscriber base and the market despite being neck deep in financial trouble. The telco has been launching new prepaid plans, offers and broadband plans in the market to woo the new subscribers in an attempt to increase its revenue. In a new move, the telco has announced the launch of three new broadband plans which will be effective July 1, 2019. These broadband plans are unlike the usual broadband plans which BSNL offers and they ship daily data with FUP limit and other benefits. Here are all the details that you need to know about the newly launched BSNL broadband plans. It is also worth noting that these plans have currently been launched in the Tamil Nadu circle only.

2GB BSNL CUL Broadband Plan

The first broadband plan which BSNL has newly introduced is the 2GB CUL plan and it offers 2GB data per day at 8 Mbps. The after FUP speed in this plan is 1 Mbps. Apart from this, the plan also ships unlimited calls to BSNL network all month long and in addition the plan also allows Rs 600 worth of calls to other network. The fixed monthly rental of this plan has been set at Rs 349. The total data which the users will enjoy in this period would be close to 60GB.

2GB BSNL CUL With No Calling Limit

This plan by BSNL is slightly different to the one we mentioned above. The data benefits in this broadband plans are the same. This means that the subscribers will enjoy 2GB data per day with an after-FUP speed of 1 Mbps. The 2GB data will be available to the users with a speed of 8 Mbps. However, the difference in this plan is that this one comes with truly unlimited calling. Unlike the above mentioned plan, this plan offers unlimited calls to any network. The monthly rental of this plan has been set at Rs 399.

3GB BSNL CUL Broadband Plan

Just like the name suggests, the 3GB BSNL CUL Broadband plan offers 3GB daily data to the subscribers with an 8 Mbps speed. Just like the other above mentioned plans, these plans also come with an after-FUP speed of 1 Mbps. Also, similar to the Rs 399 broadband plan, this one also offers unlimited calling to all networks. This is also the highly priced broadband plan by BSNL which is newly introduced in the Tamil Nadu circle and its monthly rental has been set at Rs 499.

It is worth noting that the broadband plans which BSNL has introduced in the Tamil Nadu circle are not fibre plans and do not offer impressive speed like other BSNL plans. The main highlight of these plans is unlimited calling along with daily FUP data.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) noted that the total wired broadband subscribers in India have declined from 18.42 million in March 2019 to 18.41 million in April 2019. This has been a 0.04% drop in the number of wired broadband subscribers in the country. As per the data compiled by the telecom regulator, the top five wired broadband providers were BSNL (9.15 million), Bharti Airtel (2.38 million), Atria Convergence Technologies (1.43 million), Hathway Cable and Datacom (0.82 million) and MTNL (0.75 million). The report which was received by the telecom regulator at the end of April month from 317 operators stated that the number of broadband subscribers went up from 563.31 million at the end of Mar-19 to 571.95 million at the end of Apr-19 with a monthly growth rate of 1.53%.

Reliance Jio Infocomm Boasting of 314.81 Million Subscribers Currently

What’s crucial to note is that the data highlighted that the top five broadband providers constituted 98.68% market share of the total broadband market at the end of April 2019. These top five service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (314.81 million), Bharti Airtel (115.71 million), Vodafone Idea (109.66 million), BSNL (22.29 million) and Tata Tele. Group (1.94 million). This data was for both wired and wireless broadband connection, for the wireless broadband market the top five service providers included The top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd with 314.81 million subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 113.33 million subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 109.64 million subscribers, BSNL with 12.39 million subscribers and Tata Teleservices with 1.54 million subscribers.

The interesting part about the data is that in March when Trai had compiled the report for the number of wired broadband subscribers, the number of subscribers had shot up from 18.29 million subscribers in February to 18.42 in only a month. As for both wired and wireless broadband subscribers, the numbers had increased by 2.37% to 563.31 million from 550.24 million, including both wired and wireless verticals.

Trai to Bring Rules to Regulate Wired Broadband Testing

Apart from the new report compiled by the telecom regulator about the wired broadband sector, there has been more development in the industry regarding the industry. It is worth noting that the days before the launch of Reliance Jio GigaFiber have forced the sector regulator to ponder about the issues which the industry is currently facing right now. Similar to the network testing rules which exist for the wireless broadband service providers, the telecom regulator plans to put in place rules for the wired broadband service provider. Currently, Trai is planning to float a consultation paper which would take six months to materialise. The new laws would likely be put in place before the launch of Reliance Jio’s GigaFiber fibre broadband service, thus putting it under the direct scrutiny of the regulator.

Bharti Airtel has recently revamped its V-Fiber broadband plans across all the cities. And today, the Internet Service Provider has started offering Airtel Thanks benefits to V-Fiber broadband customers on Rs 1,099 plan and above. It’s worth noting that Airtel no more has city-specific broadband plans, except for a few like Hyderabad, Vijayawada and so on. The company has simplified its broadband tariff portfolio with just four plans starting at Rs 799 and going all the way up to Rs 1,999. Airtel broadband users on Rs 1,099 plan and above will be eligible for Airtel Thanks benefits, while the users on Rs 799 plan are left out, sadly. The benefits of Airtel Thanks include one year of Amazon Prime membership, three months of Netflix, full access to ZEE5 Premium and Airtel TV Premium subscription as well. Notably, these benefits are being offered to Airtel Platinum customers.

Airtel Thanks Programme Rolled Out to V-Fiber Broadband Users

Last month, Bharti Airtel revamped its consumer programme Airtel Thanks with better benefits to lure more subscribers. As part of the revamped Airtel Thanks programme, Airtel is providing several premium subscriptions like Netflix, Amazon Prime, ZEE5 and Airtel TV Premium. Airtel now has broadband operations across 90 cities and has over 2.3 million customers. Existing customers can also avail these benefits if they haven’t already.

As mentioned above, Airtel V-Fiber users under the new Airtel Thanks programme will be eligible for benefits like three months of free Netflix Basic subscription, one year of Amazon Prime membership, ZEE5 Premium membership at no extra cost and Airtel TV Premium which offers over 340 Live TV channels, more than 10,000 movies from services like Eros Now, HOOQ, Hungama Play and so on.

George Mathen, CEO – Broadband, Bharti Airtel, said, “We are delighted to bring some exciting #AirtelThanks benefits to our Homes customers and deliver a truly differentiated experience backed by quality service. Digital entertainment and online shopping are amongst the biggest use cases for Home Broadband and we are now bringing a bouquet of top content and e-commerce platforms to our customers as part of their plans. With this, we Airtel has set a new industry benchmark when it comes to value proposition for the customer.”

Bharti Airtel Simplifies Broadband Tariff Portfolio

Bharti Airtel, earlier this month, revamped its entire broadband tariff lineup to offer fewer plans than before. In several cities, the company is now providing just four plans of Rs 799, Rs 1,099, Rs 1,599 and Rs 1,999. In some cities like Hyderabad, Vijayawada, there are just three plans of Rs 699, Rs 1,299 and Rs 1,599. In some cities, there’s a high-speed 300 Mbps broadband plan priced at Rs 2,199.

The Rs 1,999 broadband plan from Airtel across all the cities ship with 100 Mbps speeds without any FUP limit, while other plans come with monthly FUP limit. Notably, the plans which come with monthly FUP limit also come with data rollover facility with which users can carry forward unused data from this month to next.

Furthermore, Airtel is providing 7.5% on overall rental for subscribers choosing a broadband plan for six months and 15% discount for those choosing a plan for 12 months.

Like we all know now, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has been making pretty drastic moves in the market to gain a more dominant position and to lure more and more subscribers. The telecom operator has been active on all the fronts including prepaid, postpaid, broadband and is also pushing for an increased 4G coverage. However, currently, the focus of all telecom operators seems to be on the broadband segment as the launch of Reliance Jio GigaFiber is only weeks ahead. With this, BSNL is also revising its broadband plans to offer more data and better benefits. In its new move, the state-led telco has revised many broadband plans including two popular Bharat Fibre broadband plans as well which will be effective July 1, 2019 onwards. The details about the revision of these plans are as follows.

Bharat Fibre Broadband Plans Revision

Firstly, the most notable revision in the BSNL broadband roster has to do with the Bharat Fibre Broadband plans. Under this portfolio, BSNL has revised two plans. The first one among the two to undergo revision is the 500GB plan for Rs 777, which has now been changed to offer 600GB data per month. The monthly rental of this plan has also been revised to Rs 849, and this plan also offers unlimited free calls. Previously, this plan used to offer 500GB data per month. The after-FUP speed of this plan is 2 Mbps, and the regular speed is 50 Mbps.

Another Bharat Fibre broadband plan to have undergone revision is the 50GB plan which has now been revised to offer 55GB data per day with 100 Mbps speed and an after- FUP speed of 4 Mbps. Previously this plan used to provide 500GB data per day with 100 Mbps speed. The rental of this plan has also been upped from Rs 3,999 to Rs 4,499. This plan also bundles free unlimited calls.

BSNL ADSL Plan Revisions

Along with two Bharat Fibre Broadband plans, BSNL has also revised some of its ADSL plans as well. The BB BSNL CUL plan of Rs 299 which used to offer 1.5GB data per day at 8 Mbps has been revised to provide 2GB data per day at Rs 349 with 8 Mbps data speed along with Rs 600 worth of off-net calls. It can also be said that BSNL has replaced a lot of its plans with new plans in its broadband portfolio. Now BSNL offers 4GB data per day plan with 10 Mbps speed for Rs 599, 5GB per day data plan with 10 Mbps speed with 24 hour unlimited calling for Rs 699.

There are also other 10 Mbps plans offering 12GB, 22GB and 25GB data with 24 hours unlimited calls available for Rs 899, Rs 1,299 and Rs 1,599 from BSNL. The 16 Mbps plan from BSNL offering 30GB daily data is available for the customers at Rs 1,849 monthly rental. Lastly, the 24 Mbps plan offers 35GB data per day is available to the customers for Rs 2,349.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), the state-led telecom operator has been making consumer-centric moves in the market for the betterment of the company and to lure more and more subscribers. Being the biggest wired broadband provider in the country, these moves have also been extended to the wired broadband segment, and as such, the telco has launched many new revisions and plans for the consumers which offer attractive data and other freebies to the consumers. One such plan in BSNL’s portfolio is the BBG COMBO ULD 1199 Family plan which has been in the market for a while now. And it is one of the plans which might give the other telecom operators a run for their money, even to the likes of Reliance Jio which plans to lands with its GigaFiber high-speed internet service in a few weeks. Check the benefits and other details of this plan.

BSNL BBG COMBO ULD 1199 Family Plan Details

Firstly, the BBG COMBO ULD 1199 Family plan bundles 30GB data per day at 10 Mbps speed, and the after FUP speed in this plan is 2 Mbps. Along with this data offering, the plan bundles free unlimited local plus STD calling to any network in India, paired with prevailing VAS services (Music, games, movies ) free of cost under BB Plan. Lastly, the highlight of this plan is that it bundles three mobile connections for the users as well. These three mobile connections also enjoy unlimited free calling to any network in India, and unlimited data with throttled speed to 40 kbps after 1GB. There is also free PRBT for these numbers. One SIM out of the three will also enjoy free online TV and one-month free e-learning to anyone subject for Students up to Class XII.

Comparison With Reliance Jio GigaFiber

Like we mentioned above, this new plan by BSNL is a very strong offering in the broadband segment by the state-led telecom operator. Compared to some of the other broadband plans in the market, this plan offers much more data, albeit at a slightly slower speed. Apart from that, the added benefit of the plan is the free mobile connection for three family members which also enjoy free calling and 1GB data per day, and the total monthly rental is only limited to Rs 1,199.

In contrast to this, Reliance Jio’s GigaFiber service has been rumoured to come with a Rs 600 rental for the 100 Mbps speed which will offer 100GB data per month along with landline and GigaTV. However, even Reliance Jio isn’t offering mobile connections on its plans, so there is definitely some edge which the subscribers might see in this BSNL broadband plan. Subscribers who want more data and perks like the added mobile connections and don’t mind the speed of 10 Mbps will find this plan very attractive.

Reliance Jio is said to bring broadband, landline and DTH bill under one bill with Jio GigaFiber and it’ll be interesting to see whether the company plans to integrate mobile connections as well.

After the broadband sector became competitive and other telecom operators started ramping up their efforts in the broadband playing field, Hathway Cable and Datacom also did not stay behind in this race. The cable service provider is also providing broadband services in select cities and it also started offering discounts and freebies to its subscribers to lure more and more subscribers. Firstly, we heard of the Android Play Box offer which it was shipping to its users and then Hathway started offering a “life set hai” offer to its broadband subscribers offering them 50 Mbps plans with unlimited data for Rs 349. Now the service provider has debuted a similar offer called “Lifelong Binge” and this one offers broadband service at Rs 399 per month and 50 Mbps speed. Here are all the details about the “Lifelong Binge offer”.

Hathway Lifelong Binge Offer Details

To recall, Hathway had introduced the “Life Set Hai” offer in Hyderabad only back in May. The service provider was shipping the 50 Mbps plan for Rs 449 per month, but under this offer the company was providing a discount of Rs 100 on the monthly rental meaning that subscribers could get the 50 Mbps unlimited data plan for Rs 349 only. But this time around, Hathway has made a little change for its “Lifelong Binge Offer” and is offering this plan for Rs 399 per month and the speed remains the same at 50 Mbps. On the offer page of Hathway official website, the company has mentioned that the subscriber will have to do a one-time non-refundable registration which will charge Rs 1,999, and after that, they will be able to subscribe to this offer.

Hathway Broadband Plans in Hyderabad and Other Cities

It is worth noting that in the Hyderabad region, Hathway Cable and Datacom is offering all its broadband plans without any FUP. Now with the Lifelong Binge offer, it will be offering no-FUP plans across many other cities as well. Hathway’s broadband plans start with 25 Mbps speed which is available under the Gold subscription for Rs 349 per month. The service provider also offers 50 Mbps connection for Rs 399, 75 Mbps connection for Rs 399, 100 Mbps connection for Rs 549, 125 Mbps connection for Rs 599 and 80 Mbps connection for Rs 399 as well. While these are the prices for the middle tier Gold connections from Hathway, the subscribers can also opt for higher priced Blast subscription of these broadband plans, which go as high as Rs 649 per month for the 125 Mbps plan.

Hathway currently has operations in many cities like Aurangabad, Bhilai, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Baroda, Delhi, Goa, Indore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, Mumbai, Pune, Surat and Thane among more. In other cities except for Hyderabad, the broadband provider is shipping plans with data FUP and it is only in select cities like Bengaluru where Hathway offers the no-FUP data.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited’s (BSNL) consumer-centric moves are being loved by its subscribers, and they have been believed to attract new users as well. However, whether or not they have shaken things in the ground-reality is a whole another question. Before the arrival of Reliance Jio GigaFiber, the consumer wired broadband turf is getting heated up and as such BSNL is also preparing for the same. The state-led telecom operator has been making changes to its plans and starting July 1, the telco will be bringing revised Bharat Fiber plans for the users. Here are all the details about the new Bharat Fiber plans applicable from July 1.

BSNL Broadband Plans With Up to Rs 1,000 Per Month Rental

In this category, the BSNL is shipping seven plans and the first plan in the portfolio is the Rs 349 per month plan which is offering 2GB data per day at 8 Mbps speed and 2 Mbps after-FUP speed. In voice, this plan offers unlimited calls to BSNL network and Rs 600 worth of free calls to other networks.

The next plan in this category of Bharat Fiber plans includes the Rs 599 plan which offers the double data of 4GB data per day at 10 Mbps and then 2 Mbps after-FUP speed. When it comes to voice, this plan ships unlimited calls to all networks without any FUP.

The third plan in this roster is the Rs 699 fibre plan which offers 5GB data per day with 10 Mbps speed and a post-FUP speed of 2 Mbps. Here also, BSNL offers unlimited calling to all networks.

The next Rs 749 BSNL Bharat Fiber plan makes a jump and offers 300GB data per month at 50 Mbps and a post-FUP speed of 2 Mbps. There is also a similar Rs 849 broadband plan which offers the users 600GB data per month at 50 Mbps, and 2 Mbps post-FUP speed. Both of these plans offer unlimited calling to all networks, with the Rs 749 plan offering free one-year Hotstar subscription and the Rs 849 plan offering one year complimentary Amazon Prime subscription.

Lastly, the Rs 899 and Rs 999 broadband plans offer 12GB and 15GB data per day to the users at 10 Mbps and 2 Mbps post-FUP speeds. These plans also bundle free unlimited calls to any network and one year free Amazon Prime subscription.

Other Daily Data Bharat Fiber Plans

Some other Bharat Fiber plans which ship daily data to the users include the Rs 1,299 plan offering 22GB data per day at 10 Mbps, Rs 1,599 plan shipping 25GB data per day at 10 Mbps and then an after-FUP speed of 4 Mbps. There is also the Rs 1,849 plan offering 30GB data per day at 16 Mbps and post-FUP speed of 4 Mbps, Rs 2,349 plan offering 35GB data per day at 24 Mbps and 4 Mbps of post-FUP speed. All of these plans also bundle free voice calls to any network and one-year Amazon Prime subscription as additional benefits.

Bharat Fiber Plans Offering Up to 100 Mbps Speed

There are also some competitive plans by BSNL offering high speeds of up to 100 Mbps and these include the Rs 1,050 plan offering Rs 625 per month and 2 Mbps after-FUP speed, Rs 1,277 plan offering 750GB of data per month with 2 Mbps post-FUP speed. Along with Rs 1,499 plan offering 1000GB per month with same 2 Mbps after-FUP speed, Rs 2,499 plan offering 40GB data per day at 100 Mbps and then 2 Mbps beyond that, and lastly the Rs 4,499 plan shipping 55GB data per day at up to 100 Mbps and then 4 Mbps beyond that. These plans by BSNL are also shipping with free unlimited calls to any network and one year free Amazon Prime membership. It is also worth noting that every plan including and above the Rs 999 plan is applicable for domestic and corporate customers both.

Atria Convergence Technologies or ACT Fibernet has started crediting 100GB of flexyBytes+ data to broadband customers as part of the World Cup offer. ACT Fibernet broadband users will get a total of 100GB data valid for three months. Basically, the company is providing the Rs 600 flexyBytes+ plan that offers 100GB of extra data for three months. With the knockout stages of Cricket World Cup already underway, this move from ACT Fibernet comes as good news to the existing customers. After the new broadcasting tariff regime in place, a lot of subscribers are viewing the Cricket World Cup 2019 through OTT apps like Hotstar, Thop TV and so on, so for those users, this World Cup offer from ACT Fibernet will be extremely useful.

ACT Fibernet World Cup Offer: Everything You Need to Know

ACT Fibernet is one of the leading fibre-based broadband service providers in India right now. The Internet Service Provider has more than two million users under its belt and it has operations across 17 popular cities in the country. Talking about the ACT Fibernet Wolrd Cup offer, users will be able to check the free 100GB data by logging into their account through ACT Fibernet website or mobile app. In my case, the free data was credited on July 6 and it will expire on August 30.

The offer validity will most likely be similar to every ACT Fibernet broadband user.

ACT Fibernet flexyBytes+ Plans: What Do Customers Get?

A while back, ACT Fibernet revamped its data add-on packages and they are now called as flexyBytes+ plans. ACT Fibernet is providing a total of five flexyBytes+ plans to the subscribers priced at Rs 225, Rs 400, Rs 600, Rs 1,250 and Rs 2,500. All these flexyBytes+ plans ship with 90 days validity and they offer 25GB, 50GB, 100GB, 200GB and 500GB of data respectively. Also, the company allows users to carry forward the unused data from flexyBytes+ plan to the next recharge.

The flexyBytes+ plans will come into picture only when a customer exhausts the monthly FUP limit. ACT Fibernet is already providing decent FUP limit with almost all its broadband plans, but for those who exhaust the limit, they can make use of the flexyBytes+ plans.

ACT Fibernet Steps into Streaming Devices Category

In other news, ACT Fibernet has stepped into the streaming devices category with the launch of ACT Stream TV 4K Android TV box. The ACT Stream TV 4K from ACT Fibernet takes on Amazon Fire TV Stick and it’s priced at Rs 4,499. Being an Android TV box, users will get access to all the popular OTT apps like Hotstar, Netflix, ZEE5, Sun NXT, and so on. Also, Amazon has confirmed that the Prime Video app will be available for download via Google Play Store on Android TV.

As we are coming closer to the days of the launch of Reliance Jio GigaFiber, the broadband sector is heating up with the competition. The effect of Reliance Jio GigaFiber is visible even before it has launched commercially as the telecom operators and the broadband service providers are gearing up by tweaking their prices to make their plans more competitive in terms of pricing. Two other major broadband service providers in operation right now are Hathway Cable and Datacom and Airtel V-Fiber. While the former uses its massive last-mile connectivity of TV connections to extend fibre services to its customers, the latter is Bharti Airtel’s fibre broadband win. As such, there is the question which pops up, if the wait of Reliance Jio GigaFiber is still on, and these two broadband service providers are options, then which one should the subscriber choose. Here is a detailed wind-up on which operator you should choose.

Different Approaches to Pricing Broadband Plans

The major difference between the two broadband service providers is how they price their services. While Hathway Cable and Datacom goes for a predatory pricing technique, Airtel V-Fiber has a different approach. Hathway has decided to cut the prices of its broadband plans to make them more attractive and affordable. However, when it comes to Airtel, the company has decided to bundle lots of freebies with the plan to make it worth buying for the customer.

Hathway’s Affordable Plans

Also, Hathway has introduced a new plan for its subscribers in almost all the circles that it operates in and this plan comes for Rs 399. This plan stands out from the rest of the plans being provided by other ISPs since it offers unlimited data at Rs 399 and that too for 50 Mbps. Subscribers have to pay the Rs 1,999 deposit upfront after which they have to pay a monthly rental of Rs 399 simply. What’s worth noting is that although the plan offers a sweet deal when it comes to speed and data, there are no added benefits in this plan.

Airtel V-Fiber Bundling Lots of Additional Benefits

As opposed to Hathway which is betting on affordability, in order to get the best benefits in Airtel V Fiber, the subscribers will have to spend at least Rs 1,099 per month to avail the benefits of the plan. Under the Airtel Thanks scheme, subscribers will be able to get subscriptions to services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, ZEE5 and Airtel TV Premium. The cheapest plan to offer these benefits includes the Rs 1,099 plan, which offers 300GB data at 100 Mbps. The users get three months of Netflix subscription and a yearly Amazon Prime subscription. The Airtel plans also come with a data carryover feature.

Which One to Go For?

In case you can wait for a few weeks to get a broadband connection, then it would be our suggestion to go for Reliance Jio GigaFiber which will also get you a subscription to Jio Home TV which will offer 600 channels too. If you need to have a connection now and affordability is your priority, then Hathway Broadband would be the more obvious choice, but in case you would like to have lots of content subscription then Airtel V-Fiber has the most attractive plans.

If there is any sector which is brimming with competition right now, it is the broadband sector in India. After a stint of very competitive prepaid and postpaid offerings, most of the telecom operators and broadband service providers are preparing for the launch of Reliance Jio GigaFiber and fierce competition with it. When it comes to the war between the telecom operators, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio have got their horns locked in a tight battle. The Sunil Bharti Mittal led telco’s efforts to increase its ARPU have gone right, and the estimates suggest that the telco will report higher ARPU than Reliance Jio in its upcoming quarterly report. Also, the prepaid and postpaid plans of Airtel have almost matched Reliance Jio in attractiveness. Now, the next question is whether or not the broadband arm of Bharti Airtel – Airtel V-Fiber will be able to match heads with Reliance Jio GigaFiber.

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio GigaFiber Plans Under Rs 1,000

While looking at the broadband plans being offered by Bharti Airtel, we can find that the telecom operator is currently shipping 4 plans to the subscribers. The initial starting plan of Bharti Airtel is Rs 799 per month, which offers 100GB data per month at 50 Mbps speed along with unlimited local and STD calls. This plan also provides 200GB bonus data valid for 6 months and no data rollover.

Comparing this with the Triple Play Plan of Reliance Jio GigaFiber which will likely be launched for Rs 600 per month and has been rumoured to be priced the same. The plan will bundle 100GB data per month at 50 Mbps speed along with DTH and landline connection. In the lower pricing rungs, it can be said that Reliance Jio has the head-start as the telco ships more data to the subscribers at the same speed. What’s more, is that the subscribers get to enjoy DTH services in the bundle. Also, the subscribers will enjoy 1000GB bonus data on this plan

Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio GigaFiber Plans Above Rs 1,000

Moving forward, we have the Rs 1,099 broadband plan from Airtel which will compete with the higher priced plan of Reliance Jio probably shipping 100 Mbps data. The Rs 1,099 broadband plan from Airtel offers 300GB data per month at 100 Mbps speed along with 500GB bonus data valid for 6 months. The plan also bundles unlimited local, STD and roaming calls. Additionally, this plan offers data rollover facility and Airtel Thanks benefits as well meaning that subscribers get free Amazon Prime subscription.

This plan is likely to compete with Reliance Jio’s higher priced plan around Rs 1,000, which will ship 100 Mbps data to the subscribers with 100GB data per month and 1000GB bonus data. The Reliance Jio plan will ship 300GB more data as compared to the Airtel plan, and it will have the edge of providing DTH services as well. However, the Airtel plan will come with data rollover and Airtel Thanks benefits to make up for that. So, in a way, it can be said that in the broadband segment as well Airtel will be able to match Reliance Jio GigaFiber’s offerings around the higher price tags.

It is also worth noting that Airtel has other broadband plans like the Rs 1,599 and Rs 1,999 plans which offer 600GB at 300 Mbps and unlimited data at 100 Mbps respectively. The Rs 1,599 plan provides 1000GB bonus data, and Airtel Thanks benefit whereas the Rs 1,999 plan does not offer these benefits and unlimited data is its only charm. Airtel is also shipping a 7.5% discount on its semi-annual subscription of broadband plans and a 15% discount on the annual subscription of broadband plans.

BSNL has revised its cashback scheme on annual broadband plans alongside adding free Amazon Prime subscription on plans priced below Rs 499 as well. To recall, BSNL offered Amazon Prime membership worth Rs 999 for free to broadband customers on a plan priced over Rs 745. That said, the government-owned PSU has made some changes to the Amazon Prime offering and also to the cashback scheme on annual plans. Both the existing and new BSNL broadband customers can now enjoy Amazon Prime subscription for free by choosing broadband plans less than Rs 499 as well. But there’s a catch. As mentioned earlier, the Amazon Prime membership comes bundled with BSNL broadband plans priced above Rs 745, but if a customer chooses any broadband plan for 12 months, then the membership will be given for free alongside the respective cashback amount. Sounds confusing? Well, read on to know more.

How to Get Amazon Prime Membership on BSNL Broadband Plans Below Rs 499?

BSNL has introduced changes to its cashback scheme on broadband plans alongside adding new benefit in the form of Amazon Prime membership. BSNL is offering up to 25% cashback on its broadband plans and the plans include DSL, Bharat Fiber and BBoWiFi. Existing or new BSNL customers choosing broadband plans below Rs 900 (including the ones priced below Rs 499) are eligible for the cashback offer and Amazon Prime membership.

BSNL is providing 15% cashback on broadband plans priced below Rs 499; 20% cashback on broadband plans priced between Rs 499 and Rs 900 and 25% cashback on Rs 900 and above broadband plans. That said, customers have to choose the same plan for 12 months (one year) to be eligible for the cashback offer. And if a customer chooses the plans in the price range mentioned above, BSNL will be offering them one-year of Amazon Prime membership for free. So if a BSNL customer chooses a yearly broadband plan, the company will provide up to 25% of cashback and Rs 999 worth of Amazon Prime subscription for free. For the unaware, Amazon Prime membership benefits include free access to Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Music, faster product shipping and early access to any sales on Amazon.in.

BSNL is also providing cashback on annual landline plans (without broadband data). The BSNL landline plans of any denomination will offer users 15% cashback if a customer chooses it for one year, but do make a note that there won’t be any Amazon Prime membership on offer with landline plans.

BSNL Revised Broadband Plans Recently to Gear Up for Jio GigaFiber

In other news, BSNL has recently revised its broadband plans to gear up for the launch of Reliance Jio GigaFiber which is expected to happen in the next couple of months. BSNL has revised its Rs 777 Bharat Fiber plan and increased the price to Rs 849 alongside increasing the data benefit to 600GB. The plan also offers a user landline calling as well. Furthermore, even if a customer chooses the plan for one month, BSNL will provide them with Amazon Prime membership for free. The company also revised the Rs 3,999 broadband plan and increased the price to Rs 4,499.

When it comes to measuring speeds of the network by telecom operators and internet service providers, there are a handful of tests which the users depend on. One of the most relied speed tests when it comes to gauging the quality and speed of wired broadband services is the Netflix ISP Speed Index, which measures the prime-time performance of Netflix on particular ISPs. The Netflix ISP has been ranking the service providers in terms of the speed, and it has consistently ranked Reliance Jio GigaFiber higher than its peers which has proven the performance of the wired broadband service which Reliance Jio is going to introduce in a few months. However, in its latest speed index, the Netflix ISP has noted a slip-up in the rank of Reliance Jio GigaFiber.

Reliance Jio GigaFiber in Netflix ISP Index

Ever since the introduction of the wired broadband service in India by Reliance Jio GigaFiber, the service provider has ranked at the top, thus beating others by quite a margin since September 2018. It was till April 2019 that Reliance Jio GigaFiber stayed at the top of the charts, but was then surpassed by 7 Star Digital, another ISP which started providing impressive speeds thus taking over Reliance Jio by a small margin. However, now coming to the results of June 2019, Reliance Jio has slipped down to the third spot in these rankings with 7 Star Digital and Spectranet both ranking above it.

For the month of June 2019, while 7 Star Digital reported an index of 3.54, Spectranet reported a Netflix ISP Index of 3.5. Ranking below it, Reliance Jio GigaFiber registered an index of 3.49, thus showing a slight difference. However, the thing to note here is that although there is the marginal difference between these ISP, this small gap has led to change in the rankings on the speed charts and this new report comes at a crucial time as Reliance Jio is only days away from the commercial launch of its GigaFiber fibre-based broadband service.

7 Star Digital and Spectranet Ranking Above GigaFiber

Before the launch of the service, the broadband sector in India is already growing competitive as the service providers are gearing up for the launch of the telecom operator. During the start of its service, Reliance Jio GigaFiber was registering consistent lead of around 0.3 points as compared to its closest competitor 7 Star Digital. However, as the service is now reaching new cities and more and more subscribers are coming onboard, the service provider is losing points.

Apart from Reliance Jio GigaFiber, ranking just below the ISP on the Netflix ISP index is Airtel with 3.35 points and next is Atria Convergence Technologies with 3.24 points. The list is then followed by You Broadband, Hathway, D-VoiS, Syscon Infoway, Excitel Broadband, Alliance Broadband and tikona.