The broadband industry in India right now is in a very competitive stage. The current situation of the broadband industry can be owed to the launch of fibre to the home services by the Mukesh Ambani led telecom operator, Reliance Jio. In the run-up to the launch of Reliance JioFiber, all the other broadband services upped the attractiveness of their plans either by bringing down the costs, increasing the speeds that they were offering or by bundling more benefits in their broadband plans. In the case of Reliance Jio, when these broadband plans launched, they received a little lukewarm response because although these plans were shipping massive speeds to the users ranging from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps, the total data offering in these plans was not considered enough for the users of broadband services. With this, we can infer that the main selling point of JioFiber broadband connections was the speed that these plans were offering. But, now it seems that the main offering from JioFiber, the upload speeds might start getting capped for subscribers as well, thus affecting their overall experience of the connection. If you are a JioFiber customer, then the following information might be extremely crucial for you.

Reliance Jio Upload Speed Cap

As per few of the Twitter users, Reliance Jio has started putting a limit on the speeds of the subscribers of JioFiber. The speeds that we are referring to here is the upload speed on the JioFiber connection. Although the upload speeds have been known to be slightly lower than the download speeds, the difference between the upload and download speeds in the case of JioFiber connection will make the subscribers rethink about their connection. According to the Twitter users, JioFiber is capping the upload speeds of the broadband plans to one-tenth of the original speeds, or 10% of the original download speeds. This basically means that the subscribers who opt for a plan offering 100 Mbps speed, will get upload speeds of only 10 Mbps.

Upload Speed Capping Explained

It is worth noting that when a broadband service provider offers a certain connection to the subscribers, then the upload speeds are considered to be almost equal or slightly less than then download speed cap. This means that if the subscriber gets download speeds of 100 Mbps, then the upload speed could be slightly less than 100 Mbps if speaking in illustrative terms. However, if the Twitter users are to be believed, this radical change by Reliance Jio will mean that the subscribers will see a massive difference in the network speed while uploading content or downloading content. In the case of 1 Gbps plan, the subscribers will witness upload speeds of 100 Mbps only.

For people who are using JioFiber connection at their home for playing online multiplayer games, this will be a huge step back as their gaming performance is likely to be hit if the upload speeds are heavily capped. The same will be true for people who are using this connection to upload media to the internet.

JioFiber Starting to Bill Customers

To recall, only a few days back Reliance Jio had started billing its JioFiber customers. These subscribers were getting the JioFiber services for free until now, under the JioFiber preview offer, which was on since the launch of JioFiber. Until now, the billing systems of JioFiber were not ready yet, but with the new billing systems in place, Jio has finally started charging its JioFiber customers. But, with the caps in upload speeds, it seems that the JioFiber customers might not be happy with Jio right now.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is the top telecom operator when it comes to broadband services. Still, with all the competition in the market right now, the state-led telecom operator is the largest broadband service provider of India. The BSNL broadband portfolio is flourished with lots of Fibre to the Home (FTTH) broadband plans as of now, and the subscribers have many choices when it comes to choosing plans. There are plans which offer as low as 10 Mbps or as high as 100 Mbps speed. Another thing worth noting about the BSNL broadband plans is the fact that BSNL is the only operator in the country which is offering plans with daily data benefit. Usually, when the subscribers get a broadband plan, they get a single data limit, without any daily cap on data. However, in the case of select BSNL plans, the subscribers will be able to get renewed data limit, the very next day. There is also a BSNL broadband plan of Rs 1,199 and this plan also ships many benefits to the subscribers. Some of these benefits also extend to the prepaid plans as well. Here are some of the things that you should know about the 10GB CUL Family broadband plan.

BSNL Rs 1,199 Broadband Plan Benefits

BSNL’s Rs 1,199 broadband plan which is also called the 10GB CUL Family plan bundles 10GB data per day to the users in the broadband connection. The speed that the users will get in this plan is 10 Mbps. Along with this, the broadband connection will also get a free telephone connection as well using which the subscribers will be able to make 24/7 unlimited calls to anywhere in the country. The after-FUP speed in this plan is 40 Kbps, meaning that the subscribers will experience throttled speed after they run out of 10GB data in a day.

Additional Benefits of 10GB CUL Plan Explained

Now coming to the main benefits of this broadband plan for the subscribers. BSNL has noted that the subscribers of the 10GB CUL broadband plan will be getting 3 bundled SIM along with this plan. On these SIMs, the subscribers will be able to enjoy 1GB data per day per SIM along with unlimited calling for 28 days. This means that the subscribers will be able to get free 3GB total daily data benefit across the 3 SIMs. Not only this, but they would also get the calling benefit as well, which is capped at 250 minutes. The validity of the benefit on these SIMs is 28 days. Once the 28 days are over, the subscribers will have to recharge these SIMs with their own prepaid plans.

Other BSNL Broadband Plans

It is worth noting that this is one of its kind of broadband connection that BSNL is offering to its users and with bundled prepaid SIMs. There are other broadband plans in the BSNL portfolio as well, which offers similar or more speeds and daily data limit on their broadband plans. These plans include Rs 899 broadband plan, which is the 12GB CUL plan. This plan also offers 10 Mbps speed and 12GB data per day. The after-FUP speed in this plan is also 2 Mbps, and the subscribers enjoy unlimited calling. There is also a Rs 1,299 broadband plan by BSNL which offers 22GB data per day to the subscribers, and the speed of this plan is also 10 Mbps. The after-FUP speed remains the same at 2 Mbps, and this plan also offers unlimited calling to the subscribers.

National Broadband Mission (NBM) has been announced today and it ensures that all the rural villages will get high-speed broadband connectivity in the coming years. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Communications, Law & Justice and Electronics and Information Technology has launched the National Broadband Mission at an event held in New Delhi. The vision of NBM is to fast track the growth of digital communications infrastructure, bridge the digital divide, provide affordable and universal access of broadband for all and facilitate digital empowerment and inclusion, said a release. NBM will ensure that all the villages will get broadband connectivity by the end of 2022.

National Broadband Mission: What Exactly is It?

It is worth noting that the National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) is different from the newly announced National Broadband Mission (NBM). Some of the objectives of the mission are: provide broadband access to all villages by 2022, facilitate universal and equitable access to broadband services for across the country and especially in rural and remote areas, and laying of incremental 30 lakhs route km of Optical Fibre Cable and increase in tower density from 0.42 to 1.0 tower per thousand of population by 2024.

Besides the above mentioned three missions, the National Broadband Mission also aims at significantly improving the quality of services for mobile and internet and it also helps in developing innovative implementation models for Right of Way (RoW) and to work with States/UTs for having consistent policies pertaining to expansion of digital infrastructure including for RoW approvals required for laying of OFC.

Furthermore, NBM will also have a Broadband Readiness Index (BRI) which will measure the availability of communications infrastructure and conducive policy ecosystem within a State/UT. The government will also create a digital fibre map of the Digital Communications network and infrastructure, including Optical Fibre Cables and Towers, across the country.

There will also be a massive investment from stakeholders of USD 100 billion (Rs 7 lakh crore) including Rs 70,000 crore from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF).

Data Consumption and Subscriber Base Saw a Massive Increase Compared to 2014

In other news, the government has introduced this new broadband mission is to meet the ever-growing needs for internet. Right now, in India, an average person is consuming 9.77GB data per month which is up by a staggering 1120% compared to 2014. Not only that, but telecom subscribers are also growing at a rapid pace in the country with Reliance Jio adding nearly 10 million users every month.

As for the comparison, India had just 251.59 million internet subscribers back in 2014, however, the number saw an increase of 165% and reached 665.31 in 2019. Mobile subscribers were just 907.42 in 2014 and it has been increased to 1173.75 in 2019.

The data usage saw a drastic increase since 2016, especially after the entry of Reliance Jio to the Indian telecom market. For example, before Reliance Jio, the average per GB price was Rs 205, however, it’s now less than Rs 5 with the long-term tariff plans. In the coming days, the data consumption in India will only increase, even if telcos hike the tariff prices. Reliance Jio is still offering 1.5GB data per day for 28 days under Rs 200, so consumers are still going to recharge the pack and continue using the data benefit for a month.

Reliance Jio is currently in the process of migrating its Preview users to paid plans. At the same time, the Internet Service Provider (ISP) is coming up with all the solutions required for a commercial broadband operator. Reliance JioFiber is now offering ‘Data Vouchers’ to the customers and they start at just Rs 101. Basically, Data Vouchers can also be referred as data top-ups which users can make full use of when their data limit for the current month exhaust. Similar to its telecom Data Vouchers, the JioFiber vouchers also start at Rs 101 and they go all the way up to Rs 4,001, providing a whopping 2000GB or 2TB extra data benefit to the customers. The validity of these data vouchers will be equal to the JioFiber plan validity of the customer. JioFiber paid customers can recharge these data vouchers by heading over to My Jio app or the company’s website after logging into the JioFiber account.

JioFiber Data Vouchers Detailed: Rs 101 Starting Price and More

Aforesaid, Reliance Jio is offering a total of six Data Vouchers to the paid JioFiber users. The six vouchers in question are Rs 101, Rs 251, Rs 501, Rs 1,001, Rs 2,001 and Rs 4,001. As for the benefits, the Rs 101 Data Vouchers offers 20GB data benefit, Rs 251 voucher comes with 55GB data and the Rs 501 voucher ships with 125GB data benefit.

The Rs 1,001 JioFiber Data Voucher offers a user 275GB data, followed by the Rs 2,001 and Rs 4,001 vouchers with 650GB and 2000GB (2TB) data benefit, respectively. The validity of these data vouchers is equal to the validity of the existing plan.

For example, if you are on a Rs 699 JioFiber plan which expires on December 24, 2019, and if you recharge any of the data vouchers mentioned above, then the validity of the data voucher will also be till December 24. Even if you perform the Rs 4,001 data voucher recharge, it will expire on December 24 itself. Sadly, JioFiber is not offering any data carry forward feature to the users at the moment like Spectra, You Broadband and other local ISPs.

JioFiber Data Vouchers Come in Handy for Basic Plan Users

Reliance Jio was unable to make a mark in the broadband industry because of the sub-par plans. All the JioFiber plans have a FUP limit, especially the plans priced below Rs 1,000 have a FUP limit which doesn’t inspire confidence at all. The Rs 699 JioFiber Bronze plan comes with 100 Mbps speeds and just 150GB of FUP limit, post which the speeds will be reduced. This is something annoying a lot of users from opting JioFiber.

The newly launched JioFiber Data Vouchers will come in really handy for the basic JioFiber plan users. The Rs 501 voucher offers 125GB of data benefit, which is almost equal to the monthly data benefit provided by the Rs 699 JioFiber plan.

ACT Fibernet Also Providing Data Top-Ups to the Users

Another ISP which is currently providing top-up data vouchers to the customers is ACT Fibernet. FlexyBytes+ is what ACT Fibernet calling its data vouchers. The company currently has five of them priced at Rs Rs 225, Rs 400, Rs 600, Rs 1,250 and Rs 2,500, providing up to 500GB data. In contrast, JioFiber data voucher of Rs 2,001 comes with 650GB data, so clear Jio has the upper hand in this regard when compared to ACT Fibernet.

However, the validity of FlexyBytes+ is three months from the date of recharge after which the remaining data balance will lapse, unlike JioFiber, which is providing just validity of the primary plan.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is the largest broadband service provider in the industry right now. Despite the competition in the sector which has sprung up in the recent times prior to the rollout of the Reliance Jio FTTH service, JioFiber, BSNL is still shipping some of the most attractive plans in the industry right now for broadband customers. The telecom operator is also the only broadband service provider in the country, which is offering daily data broadband plans. There are also a lot of options for subscribers who want to get a BSNL broadband connection. The speed ranges for the broadband plans from BSNL range from 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps. Co-incidentally, the BSNL broadband plans which are available for the subscribers right now can also be availed for longer terms. The different thing with BSNL broadband subscribers is that the customers can avail these broadband plans for long term like, annually, 24 months or even 36 months. However, there have been a few changes in how BSNL will charge the advance rental for these plans. These are some of the things that you should know.

BSNL Issues Changes to Long Term Subscription Pricing

BSNL has issued a new notification recently in which it has made some changed to the rental amount which the subscribers will be required to pay in the case of broadband plans if they opt for long term connections like 12 months or more. It is worth noting that these new changes will also be applicable to the DSL plans from BSNL as well.

Subscription Amount for 12 Months

For a yearlong subscription of broadband plans, the BSNL subscribers had to pay 11 months worth of fixed monthly charges if the plan was priced less than Rs 499 per month. If the plan was priced more than Rs 499 per month, then the subscribers were required to pay only ten months worth of fixed monthly rental to get this connection for twelve months. This was the norm previously. But, with the new changes, the subscribers will have to pay 12 months worth of rental for the broadband plan regardless of the pricing of the plan and the subscription period that they would enjoy would be 13 months.

Subscription Amount for 24 Months

Similarly, for the plans which the subscribers opted for 24 months, they had to pay 21 months of FMC beforehand if the plan was priced less than Rs 499. And, if the plan was priced more than Rs 499 per month, then the subscribers had to pay 19 months worth of FMC to the operator. But, after the new changes, the subscribers will now be paying 24 months of FMC to BSNL, and the service that they would enjoy would be for 27 months.

Subscription Amount for 36 Months

Lastly, when it comes to getting a subscription for 3 years or 36 months, the subscribers were required to pay 30 months of FMC in the case of plans priced less than Rs 499, and 28 months of FMC in the case of plans priced more than Rs 499 per month. But, under the new rules, the subscribers will only have to pay 36 months worth of FMC, and in this payment, the total duration of service that they would enjoy would be 40 months. These new changes will not depend on the pricing of the broadband plan, and it would not matter if the broadband plan selected is priced more than Rs 499 or less.

The broadband offerings in India have grown competitive over time. All the popular broadband players and ISPs have increasingly made their plans more attractive for the subscribers seeing the competition rise in the broadband sector. As a result, all the broadband subscribers in India are getting to enjoy benefits which they did not previously see with their broadband plans. On the other hand, India currently seems to be riding an OTT wave, with Over-the-top video streaming applications making their way to almost every phone in India. Some of the most popular additions in these include Amazon Prime Video, ZEE5, Hotstar and more. But, if there is one another OTT app which everyone wants to have access to is Netflix. The only hurdle with Netflix, however, is that it costs a lot more than what the other subscription services cost. But, luckily with the increasingly attractive broadband plans in India, there are a couple of options out there for the subscribers with which, they will be able to enjoy Netflix subscription either for free or for a massive discount.

Bharti Airtel Broadband Plans With Netflix Subscription

The first set of plans under which the subscribers will enjoy totally free Netflix subscription comes from Bharti Airtel. It is worth noting that Bharti Airtel is offering its broadband plans under the Airtel Xstream Fibre banner. The Airtel Xstream Fibre broadband plans start at Rs 799, but the plans which come with Netflix benefit start at Rs 999. This plan by Airtel offers 300GB data per month to the subscribers with up to 200 Mbps speed. As for the Netflix subscription, the subscribers will get free three months of Netflix subscription. Along with this, the customers also get a full year of Amazon Prime, ZEE5 and Airtel Xstream subscription as well, which is an added advantage for the users.

Airtel Xstream Fibre has also got plans of users which come for Rs 1,499 and Rs 3,999 respectively. These plans offer 500GB data with 300 Mbps speed and unlimited data (3.3TB) with 1 Gbps respectively. The Netflix benefit with these plans also remains the same.

Netflix Benefit With ACT Fibernet Plans

Next operator which is providing the Netflix benefit to the subscribers is ACT Fibernet. Now, it is worth noting that in the case of ACT Fibernet, the subscribers will not get fully free Netflix subscription. But, instead, they will get a Cashback on their Netflix subscription, which will help them avail a subscription to the OTT service for a cheaper rental. Based on the plans that you opt for, the Cashback on your Netflix subscription will differ, and you will have to pay your Netflix bill through ACT Fibernet, along with your broadband.

For example, in the case of ACT Blaze plan, which comes for Rs 1,059 and offers 100 Mbps speed, the subscribers enjoy Rs 50 cashback. Further on, the ACT Storm plan of Rs 1,159 offers Rs 50 Cashback as well. The ACT Lightning plan of Rs 1,399 with 200 Mbps speed offers a Cashback on Netflix of Rs 100, the ACT Incredible plan of Rs 1,999 offers internet speed of 250 Mbps and ships Cashback of Rs 150. Lastly, the most attractive Cashback will be on the ACT Giga plan, which will offer a Cashback of Rs 500.

The broadband industry in India is seeing its golden days right now, with more and more people across the country opting for wired broadband services instead of only opting for mobile data connections. The increased adaption of broadband in a country sends many signals about the people. It does not only say that the people want to enjoy reliable, stable, fast internet but it has also has correlations with their spending capacity, data penetration and other major factors. However, this is only being possible because of the new attractive offerings from the broadband service providers and the ISPs in India. These companies are offering plans to the customers, which are grabbing their attention, and offering just the right services at the right price point. This has urged a lot of new consumers to get a broadband connection. When getting a broadband connection, speed remains one of the biggest points to be considered for the subscribers, and while for most, 100 Mbps suffices as the best bracket, there are users who want to experience 250 Mbps speed. Here we take a look at some of the plans which offer 250 Mbps plans.

Reliance JioFiber 250 Mbps Broadband Plan

When it comes to the FTTH service from Reliance Jio, the broadband service provider has offered a plan which is midway through the 100 Mbps and 500 Mbps broadband plan, and this is the 250. The Gold plan from JioFiber offers 500GB FUP data, and there is also 250GB additional bonus FUP data on top of this. The total data offering in this plan would be 750GB. Along with this, the subscribers also enjoy free unlimited voice calling. Additional benefits include gaming, home networking, home security, welcome offer and other OTT app subscriptions. Along with this, the subscribers are also getting the Jio Home Gateway with the Set-Top Box. Lastly, the customers will have the options of getting an HD TV, two extra months of service or double data if they make an upfront payment for a year.

ACT Fibernet 250 Mbps Broadband Plan

ACT Fibernet is another broadband player in India which is getting a lot of attention from the broadband subscribers. The broadband player is offering many 250 Mbps broadband plans for various plans depending on how much data these plans ship. The first plan in this category is the Rs 1,999 ACT Incredible plan. The plan offers 1000GB per month along with 1500GB extra data. The ACT Essential, ACT Advance, and ACT Progress is available for Rs 2,999, Rs 3,999 and Rs 4,999 offering 1500GB, 2000GB and 2500GB per month. The ACT Incredible plan from ACT is also offering a cashback of Rs 150 on Netflix subscription as well.

Bharti Airtel Broadband Plan With 300 Mbps Speed

Around the same price point, the subscribers also opt for another plan which actually offers more speed at 300 Mbps. The plan that we are talking about is the Airtel Xstream Fibre broadband plan of 300 Mbps, which is the Premium plan from the provider offering 500GB data per month. This plan also ships unlimited local, STD calls as well. The customers can decide to extend their data limit to unlimited by paying an extra Rs 299 to Bharti Airtel, which will get them unlimited data. Additional benefits in this plan include Netflix subscription for three months, Amazon Prime Video for an entire year, ZEE5 subscription for a year and Airtel Xstream app for a year.

Reliance Jio has finally given some clarification regarding the OTT apps subscription which JioFiber users will be getting with paid plans. To recall, in August this year, Mukesh Ambani announced that the JioFiber commercial plans would come with OTT apps subscriptions, but the company did not dive into the more details. And now, there’s an official update from Reliance Jio. Reliance JioFiber paid plan users on at least Gold plan will get access to four premium OTT app subscriptions at no extra cost. The company also says that many more OTT subscriptions are coming soon to the platform. These subscriptions will be provided to JioFiber users via the Jio 4K Set-Top Box which is also being made available to the users in various cities. With these OTT service subscriptions, a new JioFiber connection makes sense now, but again, the choice is very limited for now as the ISP is working on with other content providers as well.

JioFiber OTT App Subscriptions Can Be Availed via Jio Set-Top Box

Reliance Jio is currently in the process of migrating the Preview offer JioFiber users to paid plans. Every JioFiber user with a Preview plan will be migrated to a paid plan by the end of this month. When Jio announced its 4K Set-Top Box and commercial plans, not many details were provided by the company. But slowly, we got to know about the Jio Set-Top Box and how it works. And now, we have official information regarding the OTT service subscriptions being provided to JioFiber paid plan users.

Reliance JioFiber users get access to Hotstar, SonyLIV, Voot and JioCinema subscriptions as part of their JioFiber plan. And the company says ZEE5 and SunNXT subscriptions will also be provided in the coming days. As for Hotstar, Jio is offering Hotstar VIP membership worth Rs 365 and not the full-fledged Hotstar Premium membership that costs Rs 999 per year.

As we have detailed in the past, Reliance Jio Set-Top Box comes with an app called ‘JioTV+,’ and these OTT app subscriptions can be availed inside the STB. Basically, JioTV+ is a content aggregator platform that brings content from various app together. Also, the Jio STB comes preinstalled with the above-mentioned OTT apps. At the moment, we are not sure whether these OTT subscriptions can be used on any other mobile/TV/desktop.

JioFiber OTT App Subscriptions: Eligible Plans Detailed

Reliance Jio is currently offering a total of six JioFiber plans to the customers and they start at Rs 699. JioFiber is providing the OTT app subscriptions with plans priced over Rs 849. The base plan of Rs 699 comes with JioCinema and JioSaavn subscriptions and that too for three times only. For example, JioFiber users opting for the Rs 699 plan on a monthly basis will get the JioCinema and JioSaavn subscriptions for the first three times only. The same case applies to Rs 849 JioFiber plan as all the OTT app subscriptions will be provided for the first three times only.

The Rs 699 JioFiber plan will not provide any premium OTT app subscriptions even if the user chooses it for one year. So the best option is to choose the Rs 849 or above JioFiber plan, but again, to enjoy the best benefits, we suggest you get the Rs 1,249 JioFiber Gold plan.

There’s no doubt that the OTT service subscriptions list will grow on JioFiber network, but we’re expecting the company to revise the plans and make them attractive to the users.

Reliance Jio is now converting the Preview plan JioFiber users to a Migration plan. The JioFiber Migration plan comes with 50GB of data, seven days validity and 100 Mbps speeds. The Migration plan is for users who are on the JioFiber Preview plan; After the expiry of Migration plan, services will be stopped for the users until they subscribe to a paid plan. As we already know, Reliance Jio is currently in the process of migrating the JioFiber Preview plan users to a paid plan by the end of this year. The Migration plan is an intimation to the users saying that they will have to subscribe a paid plan. Jio is providing the migration plan to every JioFiber Preview plan user who is yet to convert to a paid plan. Some of the users are even complaining that the Migration plan has been activated now even if their Preview plan expiry is at a later date.

JioFiber Migration Plan: What Exactly is It?

Reliance Jio announced JioFiber services to the customers back in 2018 itself. However, for more than one year, the Mukesh Ambani-owned company provided services under Preview offer. The JioFiber Preview plan users are now being converted to a paid plan so that the company can streamline the entire billing process starting next year. The JioFiber broadband plans start at Rs 699 and they go all the way up to Rs 8,499, offering speeds up to 1 Gbps.

Coming to the JioFiber Migration plan, it is being offered to the JioFiber customers who are yet to get a paid plan. The JioFiber Migration plan comes with seven days validity, 50GB of data and 100 Mbps speeds. After the 50GB data limit, speeds will be reduced to 1 Mbps. Do make a note that the paid plan will be activated immediately if the user recharges during the Migration plan period.

JioFiber Broadband Plans Start at Rs 699

After the JioFiber Migration plan expiry, every JioFiber user will have to get a paid plan from the company. For the unaware, JioFiber broadband plans start at Rs 699 and the base speeds offered by the company is 100 Mbps. While Jio impressed everyone by providing 100 Mbps base speeds, it disappointed a lot of users with the FUP limit in place. The Rs 699 base plan comes with 100GB FUP per month and 100 Mbps speeds, which is not-so-impressive. For the first six months, the same JioFiber plan offers additional 50GB of data every month, making it 150GB data per month.

The second JioFiber plan is priced at Rs 849 and it offers the same 100 Mbps speeds up to 200GB per month (total 400GB for the first six months). Next up, we have the Rs 1,299 JioFiber plan offering 250 Mbps speeds and 750GB of FUP limit, including the extra data offer for the first six months. The other plans are Rs 2,499, Rs 3,999 and Rs 8,499, offering up to 1 Gbps speeds and 5TB of FUP limit.

Just a couple of days ago, we have reported that the JioFiber plans priced above Rs 849 come with additional OTT service subscriptions like Hotstar, Voot, JioCinema and SonyLIV. The company also said that ZEE5 and SunNxt subscriptions would be available in the coming weeks. It will be interesting to see how many Preview plan users will choose a paid plan. In other news, Reliance Jio is also capping the upload speeds to one-tenth of the original speeds.

BSNL has come up with two broadband plans for new users who are looking to join the ISP. The new broadband plans in question are Rs 299 and Rs 491, offering 20 Mbps speeds and six months validity. Alongside the standard data benefit, these two plans will also come with unlimited voice calling facility via BSNL landline service. The country’s leading broadband operator introduced the plans on a promotional basis on December 27 and they will be valid till 90 days from the date of introduction. While the validity of the plan in just one month, customers can make use of these plans for six months, meaning BSNL will ask the user to migrate to another plan. Having said that, these are non-FTTH broadband plans from BSNL and the speeds & FUP limit are on the lower side.

BSNL Rs 299 Non-FTTH Broadband Plan Launched: Check Benefits

BSNL’s broadband plan portfolio is pretty big as the plans start at just Rs 99 and go all the way up to Rs 16,999 with 100 Mbps speeds on offer. Notably, BSNL was the first Indian broadband service provider to launch plans offering daily data benefit. Talking about the newly launched plan, it’s available only to the new broadband customers and to BSNL landline customers without a broadband connection.

The Rs 299 plan offers 20 Mbps speeds up to 50GB, after which the speeds will be reduced to 1 Mbps, and there’s no FUP limit. The plan also allows users to avail unlimited voice calling via BSNL landline service. BSNL says the Rs 299 broadband plan users can avail unlimited free calling to any network within India and that too 24 hours. As mentioned above, after six months, customers will be required to migrate to another plan as per their choice. If the customer fails to migrate, BSNL will change them to the 2GB CUL plan after six months. “If not opted for any regular plan, will be migrated to 2GB CUL, after six months,” says BSNL.

There’s a Rs 500 security deposit at the time of taking a new connection and the company will not charge anything as installation charges.

BSNL Rs 491 Non-FTTH Broadband Plan Launched: Check Benefits

Moving onto the Rs 491 non-FTTH broadband plan launched by BSNL, it is also available for new users and existing BSNL landline customers. Benefits of this plan include 20 Mbps speeds and 120GB FUP limit every month, after which the speeds will be reduced to 1 Mbps. This plan also comes with unlimited voice calling option to any network within India and Rs 500 security deposit will also be collected from the new users.

After six months, BSNL will automatically migrate the Rs 491 plan users to 3GB CUL broadband plan available in the respective circle. Do make a note that BSNL is providing these two plans on a monthly payment option only and there are annual or half-yearly payment options available. Do make a note that the Rs 299 and Rs 491 plans were earlier available for only existing BSNL broadband users, but now, the company has opened them to new users as well.

As you might be aware of, BSNL is providing one-year of free Amazon Prime membership worth Rs 999 to the broadband users who are getting a plan priced above Rs 399 for one year. But the Rs 491 plan is not eligible for this offer because it lacks the annual payment option. BSNL has launched these two plans only to grab new users; Since the plans are non-FTTH, the company is providing very basic speeds and FUP limit. Instead of these two plans, new BSNL users can choose the Bharat Fibre plan of Rs 777 that offers 50 Mbps speeds and unlimited calling facility as well.

Reliance Jio has been tweaking the entire JioFiber working process right now as the ISP wants to start 2020 on a high note. Already, JioFiber Preview plan users are being migrated to paid plans and all the users will be billed from January 1, 2020. A few days ago, we reported the arrival of JioFiber affordable plans like Rs 199 and Rs 351. While the Rs 199 pack is a top-up voucher, the Rs 351 plan is available only in combination with applicable STVs. Back then, the Rs 199 top-up voucher offered just 100GB of data for seven days, however, the company has now modified the plan. Reliance Jio is now shipping a whopping 1TB of data and seven days of validity with the same Rs 199 recharge. And this modification will come as a big relief to the JioFiber users who are on the basic plans like Rs 699 and Rs 849 as the FUP limit offered is on the lower side.

JioFiber Rs 199 Top-Up Voucher Now Offers 1TB of Data

JioFiber received a lukewarm response from audience across the country, thanks to the underwhelming FUP limit on all the plans. For instance, Bharti Airtel is providing unlimited data with its Rs 799 broadband in Hyderabad city, but Jio is offering just 150GB of data with the Rs 699 base plan. Besides, Airtel has also introduced an unlimited data add-on pack of Rs 299, which allows users to get 3.3TB data every month and it can be activated on top of the base plan.

The Rs 199 JioFiber Top-Up Voucher has been revised to offer 1TB of data for a period of just seven days. Earlier, the plan used to provide 100GB of data for one week.

JioFiber Rs 199 Voucher is Not a Standalone Plan

There’s a lot of confusion going around the existing JioFiber users on whether the Rs 199 top-up voucher is a standalone plan or a top-up voucher. Well, we can confirm that the Rs 199 JioFiber plan is a top-up voucher and it can be used only on top of an active monthly plan. For instance, if you are on the JioFiber Bronze plan priced at Rs 699 that offers 150GB data per month. If you exhaust the FUP limit, the speeds will be capped. But with the Rs 199 top-up voucher, you can continue enjoying the same speeds up to 1TB for another week. The price of the Rs 199 top-up voucher is Rs 199 and there will be additional GST as well.

How Rs 199 Top-Up Voucher Differs from JioFiber Data Vouchers?

Just a few weeks ago, we reported the introduction of JioFiber data vouchers which start at Rs 101 and go all the way up to Rs 4,001. The big question in every JioFiber user’s mind would be- how does the Rs 199 top-up voucher differ from the JioFiber data vouchers? Well, the Rs 199 plan is a top-up voucher that offers 1TB of data for just one week or seven days, after which you will have to perform another recharge of the same Rs 199.

However, the data benefit offered by the JioFiber Data Vouchers will be valid until the current plan’s expiry. For instance, if you have recharged a JioFiber data voucher on December 25 and the original plan’s expiry is on December 31, then the data voucher will also expire on December 31 itself. Whereas, the Rs 199 top-up voucher exhausts exactly after one week of recharge.

For the unaware, JioFiber Data Vouchers include Rs 101, Rs 251, Rs 501, Rs 1,001, Rs 2,001 and Rs 4,001.

Bharti Airtel broadband plans are some of the most attractive broadband plans out there. Even before there were many players in the broadband industry, Airtel has been on the task of increasing the attractiveness of its broadband plans in the run-up to the launch of JioFiber. Previously, Airtel Broadband, or now known as Airtel Xstream Fibre was also not offering gigabit-speed plans for the subscribers, but now even that gap has been filled by the telecom company. There is no doubt that a lot of the customers out there are now opting for the Airtel Xstream Fibre plans because of the benefits which they offer. However, there is one interesting feature of these plans which make them stand apart from the rest, and it has to do with unlimited data. One of the major attractions of any broadband plan in the industry right now is how much data the plan ships. The consumers opting for broadband plans are now increasingly opting for unlimited data plans, but there are very less plans which offer the same. But, with Airtel Xstream Fibre connections, there is a very interesting proposition.

Airtel Xstream Fibre Unlimited Data Options

Bharti Airtel Xstream Fibre subscribers have the option of increasing the data limit of their plans by paying a little more money over their monthly rental. It is worth noting that this is a unique feature which Airtel is offering for its subscribers. The amount that the subscribers will have to pay for extra data is Rs 299 over the monthly rental. For example, in the case of the Basic plan under Airtel Xstream Fibre, the total data which the subscribers usually enjoy is 150GB, with up to 100 Mbps speed and unlimited local and STD calls. The monthly rental of this plan is Rs 799, but by adding Rs 299 more to this plan, the subscribers can bump up their monthly data allowance on this plan to unlimited. So, the subscribers will be paying Rs 1,098, but they would be enjoying unlimited data.

Airtel Xstream Fibre Unlimited Data Broadband Plan

However, things change a little bit in the case of the VIP broadband plan, which is available for Rs 3,999 monthly rental. The plan already ships unlimited data. But, even with this plan there is a little catch. The actual limit of the plan is 3.3TB or 3,300GB data per month. The speeds which the subscribers enjoy is 1 Gbps, and along with this, the subscribers also enjoy unlimited local and STD calling.

Other Benefits With Airtel Broadband Plans

This is not the only unique feature which the Airtel Broadband or the Airtel Xstream Fibre plans are shipping for its subscribers. But, when it comes to additional benefits as well. Airtel Xstream Fibre plans have a unique edge. For example, for all the plans including Rs 999 and above, Bharti Airtel Broadband plans are offering an entire year of Amazon Prime subscription and three months of Netflix subscription as well. Apart from this, the subscribers also get Airtel Xstream subscription and ZEE5 subscription too with their connection.

Airtel Broadband plans include the Rs 799 plan which we discussed above, the Entertainment plan for Rs 999 offering 300GB data, with 200 Mbps speed and unlimited local/STD calling. There is also a premium plan of Rs 1,499 offering 500GB data per month with up to 300 Mbps speed with unlimited local and STD calling. This is in addition to the Rs 3,999 VIP plan, which we also mentioned above.

One of the major broadband service providers in North India is Netplus Broadband. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) is ramping up the offerings in various cities and it has now come up with an IPTV-based Set-Top Box along with Triple Play broadband plans. Netplus has introduced a new service called ‘Next Gen IPTV’ in partnership with Chinese brand ZTE. The service will be available to the customers via the brand new Set-Top Box. Additionally, Netplus also introduced new Triple Play plans which brings three services together- broadband, IPTV and landline. Netplus says the Next Gen IPTV in India’s first IPTV service and the company is providing up to 354 Live TV channels as part of the two Triple Play plans. The Triple Play plans from Netplus Broadband are currently available for as low as Rs 1,099 as a limited period offer.

Netplus Next Gen IPTV Features Detailed

While Reliance Jio was expected to be the first operator to launch IPTV service, Netplus Broadband is already offering the service to its customers in North India. Netplus’ Next Gen IPTV box comes with features like Multiple Screens, Live TV, Time Shift TV, Catch Up TV, Video-on-Demand, Radio, Apps, Home Media and a pre-installed Browser.

The IPTV service from Netplus Broadband allows users to watch their favourite TV programme in mobile, tab and PC, in addition to the Android TV-based Set-Top Box that will be provided to the customers. According to Netplus, the Android TV-based Next Gen Box offers Live TV service; Since it’s based on IPTV, users will get quick access to many channels and they can even make use of the Catch TV service. Furthermore, there’s a new feature called Time Shift TV that allows the users to watch missed programmes of the last two hours.

Netplus also says the Next Gen IPTV service has a dedicated Video-on-Demand (VoD) service with over 1000 movies available for viewing already. Being an Android TV-based Box, the Next Gen Box from Netplus Broadband will also come preinstalled with some of the popular OTT apps available in the market right now. Alongside that, users can install their apps from the in-built Google Play Store or they can sideload them.

Netplus also says it will provide smart home solutions going forward, but the details of this service are not revealed yet.

Netplus Broadband Triple Play Plans Detailed

Netplus Broadband also announced two Triple Play plans bundling broadband, IPTV and landline services starting at Rs 1,099. The two Triple Play plans from Netplus Broadband are Premium HD Pack and Platinum HD Pack, priced at Rs 1,099 and Rs 1,199, respectively. The Premium HD Pack offers 100 Mbps speeds without any FUP limit, fully loaded IPTV with over 328 HD & SD channels and smart telephony voice service with unlimited voice calling benefit.

The Platinum HD pack also offers similar benefits, but the Live TV channel count is 354, which is the reason why Netplus is charging Rs 100 more from the customers. Netplus says the IPTV service is available across all the location where it has FTTH services.

Reliance Jio is also providing Live TV channels via its content aggregator app called JioTV+ which comes preinstalled inside the Jio Set-Top Box. However, it’s not a proper IPTV service as the ISP is just gathering Live TV channels from the available content providers on its platform.

When it comes to knowing about the speeds of the various telecom operators and the broadband service providers, there are a handful of speed tests that we rely on. However, these speed tests tell you the situation of your broadband or internet connection when you’ve actually got them. But, what do you do if you had to find out a rank-list of all the broadband service providers ranked according to their speed and service quality? Well, it’s a good thing that something like this exists, and it is called the Netflix ISP Speed Index. The Netflix ISP Speed Index measures the prime time Netflix performance of the various ISPs and various broadband operators. Netflix then ranks all these ISPs according to their speeds and assigns them an index. The good thing about the Netflix ISP Speed Index is that it is a monthly report, and it helps the customers in finding out which is the broadband service operator to rely on. The Netflix ISP Speed Index report for the November month is out now. Here is what you need to know about the ranking of the ISPs as per the latest Netflix ISP Speed Index report.

Top Spot Still Held by 7 Star Digital

The top two spots of the Netflix ISP Speed Index have been occupied by the regional broadband service providers, 7 Star Digital and Spectra respectively. While 7 Star Digital operates in the Mumbai region, Spectra is based out of Delhi. 7 Star Digital stays at the top spot of the rankings with an average speed of 3.65 Mbps, which is a slight downward trend from 3.74 Mbps. Spectra, which ranks on the second number, has nailed an average speed of 3.61 Mbps and has witnessed a slight downward trend as well down from 3.71 Mbps.

JioFiber Jumps Two Ranks

Keeping aside the first and the second ranks, the most significant change that comes to our notice while going through the Netflix ISP Speed Index report is the jump that Reliance JioFiber has made in the rankings. To recall, in September 2019, Reliance JioFiber had slipped down to the fifth position in the rankings, after staying at the fourth position for a while. For two months straight, Reliance JioFiber ranked on the fifth spot in September and October. But, after this slump now as per the report for the November month, Reliance JioFiber has jumped to the third spot, thus surpassing ACT Fibernet and Airtel Broadband.

With this being said, it is also crucial to note that the improvement in JioFiber’s ranking is not the result of improvement in its speed. It is just that the other ISPs have lost average speed by a higher margin as compared to JioFiber. While JioFiber had an average speed of 3.62 Mbps in October, in November the average speed had come down to 3.59 Mbps.

ACT Fibernet and Airtel Broadband Retain Relative Ranking

Airtel’s and ACT Fibernet’s relative ranking remained the same with Airtel ranking above ACT Fibernet on the fourth spot. Airtel had an average speed of 3.64 Mbps, and it came down to 3.56 Mbps. Whereas, ACT Fibernet’s average speed for the October month was 3.63 Mbps and then it came down to 3.52 Mbps. Overall, it can be said that if you want to experience the best streaming experience, then the ranking would be as follows: 7 Star Digital, Spectra, JioFiber, Airtel Broadband and then ACT Fibernet. Although the first two in the list have limited connectivity in Mumbai and Delhi respectively.

Even though fibre connections have become very commonplace by the end of 2019 in India, there are not a lot of broadband providers out there who are offering 1 Gbps, or the so-called gigabit connection to the consumers. The major operators in the country who are the most popular ones in India offer these plans for an expensive price tag which makes these plans beyond the reach of the common people. The people who are on a budget, thus remain out of reach from these gigabit plans. However, there is one Internet Service Provider (ISP) mainly based out of Delhi, which is doing the exact opposite. The plans of Spectra Broadband happen to be some of the cheapest in the market, and they offer the maximum speed that you would see in some of the publicly available plans. While you would have to pay more than Rs 3,000 per month to get a decent gigabit connection, it seems that with Spectra you could get that for under Rs 1,500 per month. How? Let’s check it out.

Spectra Fastest Broadband Plan

When we look at some of the popular Spectra Broadband plans available for the users, three of these plans stand out and happen to be the most popular. The first plan is the one that offers 1 Gbps speed. This is the “Spectra Fastest” plan and offers 1 Gbps speed. There is a catch with this plan. If you opt for a monthly subscription of this plan, then you will be getting 500GB data per month only, but the limit is upped to unlimited when you opt for an annual subscription. Also, you get three months extra subscription when you opt for the annual plan. The effective monthly price for this plan comes out to be Rs 1,239. Subscribers of this plan also get free installation and dual-band Wi-Fi router as well.

Spectra Faster Broadband Plan

For an effective monthly price of Rs 999, the subscribers of Spectra Broadband get 500 Mbps speed. Even if you compare this with other broadband plans available in the market, you will find that Spectra is offering very cheap data and high speeds. This plan also has the same specifications. The subscribers get all the benefits like a free router, installation and unlimited data on getting an annual subscription.

Spectra Fast Broadband Plan

Lastly, there is the Spectra Fast broadband plan for the customers who can make do with 250 Mbps speed. Rest of the benefits of the plans like the three months extra subscription, the free router, installation and unlimited data benefit remains the same on this plan. The only thing is that the plan offers 250 Mbps speed and the effective monthly pricing of this plan comes down to Rs 999 per month.

Spectra Becomes Second Fastest ISP

It is worth noting that in the recent Netflix ISP Speed index report, Spectra Broadband was ranked on the second number on terms of speed, thus outranking JioFiber, Airtel Broadband, and ACT Fibernet. For someone who would like to experience high speeds, at an affordable cost, the Spectra plans are some of the most attractive ones that you can find in the market right now. The benefits of these plans like the free router, three months extra subscription, are some of the other things which are cherry on the top for the customers. As compared to these plans, Airtel Broadband customers would have to spend almost thrice the amount per month, Rs 3,999 to get 1 Gbps speed and other similar benefits. Apart from this, ACT Fibernet and JioFiber are other two broadband service providers offering 1 Gbps plans to the public.

When Reliance JioFiber made its way into the Indian Telecom industry, there was a lot of hype about the plans, the pricing and the other benefits that Reliance Jio was offering along with its FTTH service. However, there was one more thing which got as many eyeballs as the actual broadband service from Reliance Jio, and that was the Jio Set-Top Box. Jio had announced that it would offer IPTV subscription to the users in India. This means that the JioFiber subscribers would be able to watch TV as well as using their internet connection. For DTH channels, Reliance Jio acquired DEN Networks and Hathway which happen to be major players in the cable TV sector. But, Jio had also promised to offer other OTT subscriptions as well. As such, the JioFiber plans come with bundled OTT services. For a long time, even after the launch of the service, the offerings of the OTT content were shrouded in mystery and the people did not know which were the apps that they could access for free using their JioFiber connection. But, soon enough we came to know that JioFiber connection was offering VOOT, Hotstar and other apps. The latest addition in this list happens to be ZEE5.

ZEE5 Joins JioFiber Bandwagon

It is worth noting that the latest new OTT content app which has joined the bandwagon of being available to the JioFiber users is ZEE5, which comes out of the houses of Zee Entertainment. Before this, we had reported that JioFiber was offering other applications as well and these include names like Hotstar, VOOT, SonyLIV, JioCinema. In this list, ZEE5 was an expected name, and after a little wait, the application has made its way to the JioFiber OTT portfolio. This leaves another one of the major OTT services our there, SunNXT to be missing from the JioFiber OTT portfolio.

ZEE5 Subscription Worth Rs 999 Per Year

It is worth noting that ZEE5 happens to be one of the major OTT content platforms in India, which is seeing an enhanced number of viewers on its platforms owning to massive distribution. A lot of the prepaid plans, postpaid plans from telecom operators and other bundled offerings ship ZEE5 as an additional benefit with their primary offering. Another thing to note is that, if you want to opt for a ZEE5 subscription separately, you will have to pay Rs 99 per month for Rs 999 for a year.

JioFiber Eligible Plans for OTT Subscription

As for the JioFiber plans, the subscribers must note that to enjoy these premium OTT services, they would have to shell out some amount more than the base fare. This means that the subscribers on base fare would not get to enjoy these OTT services from other content providers. The Rs 699 plan subscribers would only have the access to Jio Cinema and JioSaavn. However, the subscribers of the Rs 849 JioFiber would get access to these premium services. The catch with the Rs 849 FTTH plan from JioFiber is that the access to these OTT applications would be limited only for three times.

If we look at the Rs 1,249 plan from JioFiber, then the subscribers would get to see the true benefits of the plan, as they would be enjoying more time period for OTT subscriptions as compared to the other plans in the JioFiber roster. Therefore, if you would like to have the best OTT services at your disposal, then the Rs 1,249 JioFiber plan would be the best.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), in its monthly report, mentions the number of subscribers industry-wise for all the important industries like the broadband, wireless, DTH, FM Radio and more. The figures are very important and crucial for the industry because they help us track of the industry’s health, consumer interest, companies, and other things. As per this report, for the month ending in October 2019, the broadband subscribers in India grew by 2.98% by 1.866 crore subscribers. As per the Trai data available on the matter, at the end of September 2019, the broadband industry in India had about 62.542 crore subscribers. However, in only a month, the number of these subscribers had grown to a whopping 64.408 crore subscribers. This is a massive figure for the broadband industry, and also happens to be the third-highest increase in the broadband subscribers if taken into consideration with a 22 month period.

Broadband Subscribers Growth Picks Up

If speaking in percentage terms, the broadband subscribers’ growth in India was the 9th highest one over the entire period of consideration. For a long time, the broadband subscriber growth in India has been on a negative trend.

As for the wireless broadband subscribers in India which includes users on mobile phones and dongles, Trai reported that the industry added 1.857 crore subscribers in the month of October 2019. In percentage terms, this is a 3.06% increase in the subscriber base, and it takes the total subscriber base to 60.584 crores. As for the wired broadband internet segment, the growth witnessed on that front was 0.007 crore. Also, as for the fixed Wi-Fi segment which includes Wi-Fi, WiMax, Point to Point and others, the subscribers grew by 0.002 crore in the October 2019 period. This showed a 4.22% increase as compared to the figures for the previous month.

Reliance Jio Still Leading the Pack With Most Subscribers

Trai, in its report, also revealed the top broadband operators in India as well. According to the Trai report, the top five broadband service providers in India including wired and wireless were Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd with 36.512 crore subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 13.286 crore subscribers, Vodafone Idea with 11.580 crore subscribers, BSNL with 2.27 crore subscribers and ACT Fibernet with 0.149 crore subscribers.

Even in the case of wireless subscribers as well, the top broadband service providers in the industry included Reliance Jio Infocomm which boasted of 36.433 crore subscribers, Bharti Airtel with 13.045 crore subscribers. Next up in the list were Vodafone Idea with 11.578 crore subscribers, BSNL with 1.364 crore subscribers and MTNL, with 0.02 crore subscribers.

Top Wired Broadband Players

There was also the ranking for wired broadband subscribers as well ranked according to the number of the subscribers, company wise for the market share that each company occupies. In this list, the top wired broadband service provider was the state-led telecom operator, BSNL with 0.862 crore subscribers. Next up were Bharti Airtel with 0.24 crore subscribers, ACT Fibernet with 0.149 crore subscribers, Hathway Cable and Datacom with 0.087 crore subscribers, and Reliance Jio Infocomm limited with 0.079 crore subscribers. It is worth noting that in this list of wired broadband service providers, Reliance Jio is the latest entrant that replaced You Broadband, boasting of 0.075 crore subscribers. Reliance Jio Infocomm is offering its fibre-based FTTH broadband service to the consumers under the banner of JioFiber. In the month of October 2019, both Bharti Airtel and BSNL lost wired broadband subscribers thus hinting that the subscribers gave up their connections.

If there is one offering which the people are interested in as much as the JioFiber service, it is the Jio Set-Top Box. Reliance Jio is offering its Set-Top Box complimentary with all its JioFiber connections. The subscribers get the Jio Set-Top Box with their JioFiber connection, and they do not have to pay anything extra. However, the catch with the Jio Set-Top Box is that the STB is not enough for the subscribers and at this point, the operator is not offering any cable TV service with the Set-Top Box or any IPTV service also. In this case, the subscribers will also have to get a separate cable TV connection to watch DTH channels. However, the great thing about the Jio Set-Top Box is that it also allows the subscribers to watch OTT content on it. Until now, there were very less OTT options available on the Jio Set-Top Box, but now there are a lot of OTT options available on the Jio Set-Top Box. The latest addition happens to be SunNXT.

SunNXT Now Available on Jio Set-Top Box

When we last talked about the Jio Set-Top Box, Reliance Jio had started pushing the ZEE5 application to the Jio Set-Top Box. With this new ZEE5 partnership, the subscribers of Jio Set-Top Box will be able to access the ZEE5 content easily. However, there is also a new application which the subscribers will be able to find within the Jio Set-Top Box when they fire up their TV, and that is SunNXT. Even on personally verifying on our Jio Set-Top Box, we were able to find the SunNXT app. SunNXT is another one of the popular services in the OTT domain right now. If you open the Jio Set-Top Box, then you would be able to see the SunNXT application on the window. It’s worth nothing that with the addition of SunNXT, now Jio SetT-Top Box is offering a total of six OTT services. These OTT services include OTT apps like Hotstar, YouTube, VOOT, SonyLIV and more.

Eros Now Soon Coming to Jio Set-Top Box

There is also another OTT service which the subscribers will be able to watch in the coming days, and that is Eros Now. When the Eros Now application comes onboard the Jio Set-Top Box, then the subscribers will be able to consume Eros Now content. Courtesy of these OTT applications, the subscribers, will also be able to watch as much as 150 channels. For example, with the combined Hotstar subscription, the customers will be able to access all the Star channels. The same will be the case for ZEE channels, with the ZEE5 connection.

Jio Subscribers Getting OTT Benefits For Rs 849 Plan

It is also worth noting that Jio is shipping the JioTV+ app as its platform inside the Jio Set-Top Box for offering all these OTT services. The JioFiber plans in themselves start from Rs 699 per month. But the best OTT benefits will be enjoyed by the subscribers on higher-priced plans. With plans priced Rs 849 and above, the subscribers will enjoy annual subscription of OTT applications if they get an annual subscription. But, in the Rs 699 plan from JioFiber, the subscribers will only enjoy annual subscription of the JioSaavn and JioCinema application. This means that all the other OTT services like SunNXT, Hotstar and others will not be accessible to the subscribers in this plan.

Government-owned BSNL has introduced a new broadband plan of Rs 1,999 (1500GB CS55). This plan from the company takes on JioFiber Diamond plan of Rs 2,499. The newly launched plan from BSNL is part of the company’s Bharat Fibre portfolio and it offers 200 Mbps speeds. The sad part is the plan is introduced only in two circles and that too on a promotional basis. The Rs 1,999 promotional Bharat Fibre plan will be available only in two circles- Telangana and Chennai, and it will be valid only for 90 days from the date of introduction (January 8). Alongside the standard data benefit, this plan also comes with unlimited voice calling benefit as well. Since it’s part of the Bharat Fibre portfolio, BSNL is offering a very decent FUP limit of 1.5TB or 1500GB. BSNL used to offer a Rs 1,999 Bharat Fibre plan in the past, but the price of that plan has been increased to Rs 2,499.

BSNL Bharat Fibre Rs 1,999 Introduced: Check Full Benefits

BSNL’s Bharat Fibre broadband plans above Rs 1,277 ship with daily data benefit, however, the Rs 1,999 plan is an exception. The Rs 1,999 Bharat Fibre plan comes with 200 Mbps speeds up to 1.5TB of 1500GB, post which the speeds will be reduced to 2 Mbps. As mentioned, the plan will be available for 90 days in Chennai and Telangana circles only. There’s no limit for download and upload at 2 Mbps speeds though.

The state-run telco is not offering this plan in long-term payment options like annual, two-years and three years. Majority of the BSNL Bharat Fibre plans are available for subscription for long-term, but that is not the case with the newly introduced Rs 1,999 plan. Other benefits include unlimited voice calling to any network within India and the plan should be availed for at least one month. As for the installation charges, BSNL will charge one-month rental as a security deposit.

BSNL is offering Amazon Prime subscription worth Rs 999 at no extra cost with all the Bharat Fibre plans. But we are not sure whether the company is offering the same benefit with the Rs 1,999 Bharat Fibre plan. Additionally, the plan is not available for subscription for a longer duration, so users will be forced to choose another broadband plan after 90 days.

BSNL Rs 1,999 Bharat Fibre Plan vs Rs 2,499 Bharat Fibre Plan

BSNL used to provide a Rs 1,999 broadband plan on a pan-India basis, but in mid-2019, the price of the plan has been increased to Rs 2,499. The Rs 2,499 broadband plan offers 100 Mbps speeds and 40GB data per day, after which the speeds will be reduced to 2 Mbps. Other benefits of the Rs 2,499 Bharat Fibre plan include unlimited voice calling to any network within India and Amazon Prime subscription for one year.

As for the comparison with Rs 2,499 JioFiber plan, it offers 500 Mbps speeds, but the FUP limit is on the lower side at 1.25TB. JioFiber new users will get additional 250GB data for the first six months, which will take the overall data benefit to 1.5TB per month. The price of the BSNL’s Rs 1,999 plan is on the lower side, but the JioFiber plan wins on the speed and OTT subscription aspects. Also, BSNL’s Rs 1,999 Bharat Fibre plan is not available in all the circles, which is another downside.

Tata Sky Broadband is slowly expanding its operations to popular Indian cities. The Internet Service Provider (ISP) is currently offering two types of broadband plans to the users- Fixed GB and Unlimited Data plans. As the name itself suggests, the Fixed GB plans from Tata Sky Broadband have a FUP limit on a monthly basis, whereas the Unlimited Data plans from the ISP do not have any such FUP limit. Tata Sky is currently offering broadband services in 22 regions and both the Fixed GB & Unlimited Data plans differ from region to region. But in all the cities, the broadband operator is now providing a 100 Mbps plan without any FUP limit at less than Rs 1,500. In most of the cities, Tata Sky’s 100 Mbps Unlimited Data plan costs Rs 1,100 and there will be 18% taxes on top of the mentioned prices.

Tata Sky Unlimited Broadband Plans: Details

The first plan under the Tata Sky Broadband portfolio is the Rs 900 plan which offers 25 Mbps speed to the customers with unlimited data. As for the benefit, the customers get the safe custody benefit under this plan. Similarly, Tata Sky has other plans in this portfolio which come with 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps speed, and they come with Rs 1,000 and Rs 1,100 monthly rental. Now the thing to note with these Tata Sky broadband plans is that the subscribers will be able to enjoy some more benefits in case they opt for a longer-term of subscription. For example, instead of getting a monthly subscription of these plans from Tata Sky broadband, if the subscribers get a three-month subscription, they would get the added benefit of a free router and free installation.

Tata Sky Unlimited Broadband Plans: Long Term Benefits

For subscribers looking for some kind of discount on these plans, we would suggest going for the 6 months subscription of these same unlimited data plans as it would not only get you the free router and the free installation benefit but would also avail you a 10% discount on the rental. So, while the 100 Mbps cost paid over six instalments would have cost you Rs 6,600 it would only cost you Rs 5,940 if you opt for the six-month subscription in addition to the free router, free installation benefit. In case of an annual subscription of the unlimited data plans, the subscribers get a 15% discount instead of 10%.

How Do the Tata Sky Broadband Plans Fare in Front of Competition?

Currently, the consumers have been divided over choices of broadband plans, especially after the launch of Reliance JioFiber. While the Reliance JioFiber plans offer high speed, they do not actually ship more data. But, the subscribers right now want to stream content over video which is easily done over a 100 Mbps connection, and as such, a 1 Gbps connection feels like an unnecessary expense for a common person. In such a scenario, plans like that by Tata Sky broadband with unlimited data and the right speeds seem like a good choice. With this being said, although Tata Sky Broadband ships some attractive plans and there are benefits on long term subscription, there are broadband service providers with competing plans which you might consider. For example, there is also Hathway Broadband which offers 100 Mbps plan unlimited plan which is available for Rs 499 per month under Steal the Deal offer, which is almost half of the Tata Sky broadband plan.