Airtel joins Jio in offering 'truly unlimited' data to its prepaid customers, giving users 128 Kbps speeds even after they hit their daily data caps

Airtel is adopting a new Fair Usage Policy (FUP) when it comes to unlimited internet data after the daily high-speed data cap is exhausted. Now, users will still retain internet access, but at a lowered speed of 128 Kbps. [caption id=“attachment_4235049” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] According to a Telecomtalk report, if a user has chosen a plan which offers a pack of internet data bundle on a per day basis, the consumer can sometimes be left without any internet if the per day cap finishes. To make sure that the user is not left without any internet when they need it the most telcos are providing internet data but at a slow speed. Jio started offering such “unlimited” data plans last year, something that no other telecom operator was offering at the time. Airtel’s offer improves on Jio’s offer by offering double the internet speed post the usage of the high-speed data. Jio offers a speed of 64 Kbps once the high-speed quota is exhausted. This internet data will be available till the pack gets renewed. For instance, if a user has chosen the Rs 199 plan of Airtel, where the user gets 1.4 GB per day, if the per day cap ends before renewal, the user will still be able to use access the internet at 128 Kbps. Even though the speed is slow, it’s still better than not having access to data. Plans which are Rs 199 and above are eligible for this unlimited internet data service.Other telecom operators such as Idea or Vodafone are yet to offers such a service.. (Disclosure: Reliance Industries Ltd is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd)