Airtel announces Rs 1,699 yearly prepaid plan with 1 GB data, unlimited calling

Mobile subscribers benefit a lot from the tussle between major telcos like **Airtel** , **Vodafone** and **Jio** . Almost every alternate month we see a new or a revised plan launched by some or the other telcos to attract new users and retain the existing ones. While there are a host of plans offered by these telcos that include several benefits including unlimited calling, high-speed data, free SMS per day etc, Airtel now seems to have come up with a new long-term recharge plan in a bid to circumvent Vodafone and Jio. [caption id=“attachment_5938291” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”] A Bharti Airtel office building is pictured in Gurugram, previously known as Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi - S1AETCYSAQAB[/caption] According to a TelecomTalks report, Bharti Airtel has introduced a new year-long prepaid plan for Rs 1,699. Under this plan, the telecom operator will reportedly offer unlimited local and national calls without any cap limit and free 100 SMS per day for a validity period of 365 days. The plan also bundles unlimited roaming calls and offer 1 GB of 3G/4G data benefit, which means users will get a total data benefit of 365 GB. Additionally, the new Rs 1,699 long-term prepaid plan comes with free Airtel TV premium that users can access via the Airtel TV app. As per the report, existing **Airtel** prepaid subscribers can enjoy the benefits of this new long-term prepaid plan and it is said to be available in Himachal Pradesh circle. The pack is reportedly available in an open market area, however, the new recharge plan is not listed on Airtel’s website.  We reached out to Airtel and we were told that the new Rs 1699 recharge pack is a ‘plan voucher’ and currently it is only made available via offline Airtel stores. Further, they could not confirm at the moment if and when Mumbai and Delhi circles will get the offer. If one compares the supposed new Airtel long-term recharge plan with other telcos yearly prepaid plans, **Jio** seems to take an edge in this given it offers 1.5 GB of 4G data benefit per day for the same price. The Jio Rs 1,699 long-term prepaid recharge plan has 365 days validity and provides unlimited voice calls for the entire validity period. The plan bundles unlimited SMSes with a daily cap of 100 SMSes and includes complimentary subscription to Jio apps. Besides Airtel and Jio, **Vodafone** has long term prepaid plan under its shelve as well. The telecom operator has a Rs 1,499 annual recharge plan for prepaid subscribers that include unlimited roaming and STD calls with no FUP, 1 GB of data per day and free 100 daily SMSes.