The Department of Telecom has finally canceled the BSNL tender, and now it seems that its dream of offering a 4G network to its users might get delay. The government-owned telecom operator is now going to issue a new tender, where Chinese companies such as ZTE and Huawei will not be allowed to participate.
There is no doubt that this decision is going to affect its business, but the government is more concerned about security. However, it seems that the operator has found other ways to retain its 3G users. The company has launched dozens of prepaid packs recently, and now it is revising and removing its low-value postpaid plans to increase its revenue through that segment.
The company has removed its Rs. 149 postpaid plan from its list, and now it is offering 10 plans. The plans are priced at Rs. 99, Rs. 225, Rs. 325, Rs. 399, Rs. 525, Rs. 725, Rs. 799, Rs. 799, Rs. 1125, and Rs. 1525. The Rs. 149 used to offer 500MB data along with 100 minutes for calling.
On the other hand, the operator has extended the validity of several broadband plans. The prepaid plans are priced at Rs. 299 and Rs. 491. The Rs. 299 pack is valid for 90 days and offers 50GB data at 20 Mbps speed, while Rs. 491 is offering 120GB data at 20 Mbps speed for 90 days. The company has also launched a long term plan of Rs. 2,399, in all circles. But, the major drawback of this plan is that it is not available in two circles.
The operator is already eight years late for 4G networks, and even if it launched its services now it would be very difficult for the operator to sustain as Reliance Jio has already taken over the whole market. In fact, Vodafone-Idea is nowhere close to Jio in terms of customers, revenue, and market share.