While we often take for granted the 4G and 3G services that we have access to here in the West, all the while bemoaning high prices and data overages, we could certainly have it a lot worse. For those in India, there’s little in the way of choice when it comes to 4G networks, and the few networks that did offer users service, often came with a high price tag and little in the way of offers or incentives. That is of course, until the launch of the Reliance Jio 4G network in India, which will offer users throughout the country affordable access to its 4G data network, all the while offering free calls and no more extra charges. One of India’s biggest networks, Vodafone, has had to respond with new offers, but they don’t appear to be doing customers too many favors.
In response to the popularity of the new Reliance Jio 4G SIM card, Vodafone India is offering users that brjing a new 4G device to Vodafone’s network – classified as a device that hasn’t been registered on Vodafone’s network in the past six months – a further 9GB for free when they sign up for a 1GB or larger data pack. This seems pretty nice, but unsurprisingly, there are a number of caveats. For one, this deal is only good until December 31st, and that data can seemingly only be used at night, which pales in comparison to the unlimited data during the evenings that Reliance Jio offers on some of their plans. On top of all that, this data can only be used in 4G service areas, which means those that live in an area without 4G might not be able to get access to this deal.
Speaking of regions and timings, those in Uttar Pradesh (West), Uttar Pradesh (East), Haryana, Karnataka, Gujarat, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra & Goa, Assam, North East states, and Rajasthan will only be able to use this extra data during the hours of 12AM and 6AM, while those in Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata don’t appear to have such restrictions. As we said, customers on a plan that has 1GB or more of 4G data (on plans of RS 250 or above) will be eligible for this free data, regardless of whether or not they are a prepaid or postpaid customer. While this is definitely an attempt by Vodafone to stay relevant in amongst all of the Reliance Jio hype, they will be hard pressed to compete. After all, Reliance Jio currently offers a plan for just RS 999 a month that offers users 10GB of 4G data as well as unlimited data during the evenings.