Gone are the days when Internet rates used to be very high in India. There is cut-throat competition on Internet rates, especially 4G rates are falling like anything. It all started when Reliance Jio, a renowned telecom service provider, came up with a three months free unlimited 4G offer. To keep up with the competition others also started reducing the price. Now data is available for more than 70% discount compared to earlier rates. Companies like Idea even offer free 2gb 4G data on conversion of any old Idea SIM cards to 4G. This is really good for customers as a whole. Hope there would be further cut in rates once Reliance Jio starts operations in full swing. However, Internet has become a lot cheaper in India now. Just check the major service provider in your area and ask for the most economic data plan.
You may be right and with all the excitement that Jio has storred thd market with. However, it is not the first time that such thunderous entry of a new business has happened in the market only to realise that it was not worth the labour after the offer period is over. I rather not run for Jio unless I have an already extra phone or a dual sim phone with an empty slot. I would then reserve it for free internet use. Jio broadband wifi router is pretty expensive compared to standard BSNL one if notices.
I was introduced to internet in 200 and I have been using internet in my home since 2006. Over the years I have seen a sharp decline on internet rates. The first time I paid for internet was about five dollar for 100MB and currently I am paying 10 cents for one MB. Post paid internet cost less that the prepaid service. Internet rates are also going down in my home country Nepal.
For wireless internet, here in Hyderabad, ACT corporation seems to be the leader. It offers great offers at a very low cost. I am presently using 15Mbps for 600 Rupees a month. The download limit is 75GB and there is no threshold on the upload limit. I have been using ACT's services from the past 4 years and have never experienced any technical issues. The speed is pretty good(you can watch a 720p youtube video without buffering). I use the same wireless package on my smartphone as well. When I am travelling, I use the Vodafone's 3G internet service. I haven't experienced Jio yet, but I am sure there will be intense competition between the internet service providers in the coming year. Ultimately, we customers would be at the receiving end of the benefit, so relax and enjoy the show.
Nice thread at a point when my rate plan is almost coming to an end. All these days, some of the service providers were really inflexible to reduce their rates. Now that the competition is fierce, it would be customer's delight. Given the fact that providing internet facility doesn't cost much barring the initial fair, the tariff was bound to come down. However, as a customer we need to check how long Jio could keep up with their business stunt which seems little unrealistic.
Indians are surely lucky with those affordable rates for the internet connection. In the Philippines, the telecommunication industry is not a monopoly but under a sort of consortium since there are only 2 companies for internet provider. You can guess that the cost is regulated for the benefit of the company and the poor users are left with no choice but to toe the line.
In my location as a result of stiff competition in the telecomm industry there was a great slash in the prices of data especially as the newcomers where open to a reduced charge to attract customers. Just recently there is complain by the telecomm groups that there charges have become unsustainable and trying to push for a review which we are opposing.
It is pretty interesting when you think about all of the factors that go into this. That is great news for the people of India, though, and you would hope that things continue in this direction. Always good when the consumer wins.
Its good that internet rates is going down in India. India is a home to second largest population in the world and internet rates going down means more people will be using internet. Interestingly, my home country is a neighbor to India. Even in my home country internet rates are going down.
It's interesting to note that some people have called for wi-fi to be a universal thing. In other words, you wouldn't just get the internet at McDonalds, but in the whole town. Does anyone think that is a good idea or a foolish cause? Note, obviously the idea won't go thru in the US because internet hosting companies want to make at least a little bit of money. However, such companies could go into a related business, for instance selling internet TV, and still make money.
@moondebi You are very true. Reliance Jio can't do this for long as their ultimate aim is to make profit out of business. But now they have extended the free offer for another three months with some restrictions off course. I think they are targeting to accumulate as many customers as possible so now they are not focusing on the investment. I heard that once the free offer is closed there are some really nice offers like unlimited night offers. I am sure that other companies would also follow them in the price war.
Many people argue that Reliance Jio is unreliable and has horrible service. Well, i have been using Jio since the start of the offer and very rarely have issues with it. I have found it more reliable than my Airtel sim. I would definitely recommend Reliance Jio to everybody. It saves a lot of money.
@Flaming_Dorito I think why people have this feeling about Reliance is because of their history. There were many other mobile offers from them which failed in due course of time. But I personally feel that having a Jio SIM with free data is the best thing we can have. I was planning to have one but there is very little coverage in my area. However, Reliance has started a new era in Internet services across the country. All service providers were charging very high on data and now they have no other option but to cut down their rates. Some of them even give free data to use their 4G connection. Reliance has done a very noble thing in that respect and that is why I love Reliance.
I think the era of free use of JIO over in a short while and consumers need to pay a minimum amount for same use as they were doing until now is going to make a difference in Indian internet industry in coming days. The companies which were providing data at unbelievable low rate will again hike their prices a bit to stay in profit.
@Ray1 I too think so. In fact other companies also started giving competitive offers now. Like Idea - a leading telecom player - has just launched a scheme of Rs.357 (approx $5.50) here wherein you have unlimited calls anywhere in the country and also free 1GB 4G data daily for 28 days. I already opted for this offer. Now I don't have to worry about recharging my SIM and also forget about data usage. I can watch YouTube videos without any worries. I think we are coming to a point where data will be almost free or complementary to voice calls. Even other telecom service providers like Vodafone, Airtel etc also started offering similar packages. I have good coverage of Idea in our area so I opted for Idea.
@luckycharm Since I am not in India for a long time now so I am not aware about latest situation in internet field but what I feel is that the voice calls will be totally free, no roaming charges anywhere within country or even the international roaming which was too costly until now will be available at cheaper rates. It will either be a stiff fight or an agreement between different service providers to stay in the business.
@Ray1 True, now we may see some hikes in rates. But still jio is in benefit as with prime we can have unlimited internet at 303 Rs monthly for year. So it is really good deal. Even they are charging now still rates are quite reasonable. But yes free time is over now, now its starting of their earning. lol
I can never trust JIO They will and have slowly added features that will prove expensive to the user. I have BSNL who have made great strides in this sphere. I have a limitless but time bound dongle connection. I am more than satisfied.
I am still out of India but what I read online that internet providers are more or less in a stiff competetion to keep their database intact. They are coming up with new plans to attract more customers for sure. I used three different services for my different purposes (Airtel) BSNL and Tikona wireless internet. What I read now is that Tikona is bought by one of these giants so when I am back it will be no more available to me. However, I was getting good signals of Airtel in my area so I will stay with it. I was not much satisfied with GIO even when it was available to me for free of cost as a TESTER but the signal was too poor in my area.
Well, I don't think so far anything like added features have come forward by jio. In fact prepaid users are quite safe. They need to pay 400 Rs. and they can have unlimited calling for 3 months and also 1GB 4G internet daily for 3 months. So its quite reasonable charges for 3 months compare to any other network so far. Unless they change their plan it is quite transparent offer.
