Till the last few weeks Jio SIM was only available to people with devices from certain manufacturers; Other than Reliance’s own LYF smartphones, especially only to high end Samsung Devices.But past week right before the Official launch of Jio SIM, we saw a sudden change in the game with many more devices from all tiers, or you can say almost all devices capable of 4G LTE is presently eligible for the free Jio SIM and Unlimited Data Usage till December 31. Along with the Reliance JioFi, the 4G enabled device worth ₹ 1999/- with Free Unlimited Data Offer.The JioFi is a portable Wi-Fi hotspot capable of connecting up to 10 Wi-Fi enabled devices; it’s really small like a pebble with a 2300mAh battery. All seems well and good, or Does it???
In all these Promotions and celebrations people are actually forgetting one important factor, what happens after December 31?? Although Jio has published the tariff rates with the official launch we are either avoiding or neck deep in the promotional offers too busy to look back.With the entire buzz about Reliance giving cheap 4G plans, the actual tariff is not that good but kind of similar to the existing market rates. Take a look at the Tariff plans below. Problem is with validity; the highest plan of ₹ 4999/- worth 75GB data + 150GB JioNet Data; validity is 28 days maximum; meaning you are forced to recharge every 28 days regardless if you have extra data left or not. And that is an insane drawback for the daily user. Even though calls and SMS are completely free inside the country still doesn’t cut it.
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| Tariff | ₹ 19 | ₹ 129 | ₹ 149 | ₹ 299 | ₹ 499 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4G Data | 100 MB | 750 MB | 300 MB | 2 GB | 4 GB |
| WiFi Data | 200 MB | 1.5 GB | 700 MB | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Validity | 1 Day | 7 Days | 28 Days | 21 Days | 28 Days |
| Tariff | ₹ 999 | ₹ 1499 | ₹ 2499 | ₹ 3999 | ₹ 4999 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4G Data | 10 GB | 20 GB | 35 GB | 60 GB | 75 GB |
| WiFi Data | 20 GB | 40 GB | 70 GB | 120 GB | 150 GB |
| Validity | 28 Days | 28 Days | 28 Days | 28 Days | 28 Days |
For complete Plan Tariff and Details kindly visit the following link : Reliance Jio Tariffs
And problem with low cost plans is that there is not enough data, estimating an average user requiring anywhere between 10-20GB data per month, the rates went to a whooping ₹ 999-1499 /- which is not that customer friendly; adding the validity is only for 28 days. And usage beyond this will be charged at Rs.250/GB which is way beyond the normal rates.
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Another factor to consider is the availability of WiFi Data aka JioNet Hotspot, to avail this free WiFi data one needs to be within the range of JioNet Hotspot and its locations are still unclear and we can only expect couple of them in each cities that too mostly inside Shopping Malls and other entertainment areas, so successfully utilizing this free WiFi data is very a questionable matter.
So in a nutshell, spending ₹ 1999/- for JioFi can be justified when you consider Unlimited Free 4G for the next 4 months without absolutely no limits, and later or dumping it when the offer period is over, or buying a free Jio SIM to use with your 4G enabled smartphone till the end of free period. If your plan is to utilize the Unlimited Data offer till end of December 31 then you are spot on, but if you are planning to use Jio 4G on long-term basis then you should seriously re-consider your options and priorities first.
If you have some counter points or anything we missed to add, please do leave a comment below.
