BSNL Reduces Pricing on its Cheapest Prepaid Plans

BSNL has recently announced that it has reduced the pricing on three of its basic prepaid plans below Rs. 100. The telco, in a bid to retain its users and attract new ones, has slashed pricing by as much as Rs. 2.

BSNL looking for Customer Retention with Price Slash

Starting October 18, the Rs. 56, 57 and 58 plans, will see their prices reduced. However, these revised price points are only valid for telco's customers in Kerala, per Kerala Telecom.

The Rs. 56 plan, which offers users 5,600 seconds of talk time for 8 days, will now cost Rs. 54. Similarly, the Rs. 57 plan, which users can use to get 10GB data, along with access to Zing Entertainment Music, for 10 days, will now cost Rs. 56. Also, BSNL has slashed the price of the Rs. 58 plan to Rs. 57; users can extend their international roaming by 30 days with this plan.

Customers can avail these plans by simply going to the My BSNL app, or the telco's official website. At a time when private telcos are looking for price hikes, BSNL, who has lost much ground to them, has slashed prices. The state-run telco has not rolled out a 4G network thus far; a conglomerate lead by C-DoT, and consisting of TCS and Tejas is currently running trials in Ambala and Chandigarh for its 4G.

The telco needs to at least retain its 2G users in the face of private telcos targeting more of the 2G/3G user base. Reliance's JioPhone Next can hit the shelves any time now; Airtel has also been in talks with OEMs to make an affordable smartphone. As of August 2021 data from TRAI, BSNL has about 57 million subscribers. For context, Reliance Jio has almost 450 million users.