Jio Launches Voice-Only Prepaid Plans Starting at Rs 147
Reliance Jio has introduced voice-only prepaid plans starting at Rs 147, offering unlimited calling and SMS benefits without bundled mobile data. Check all plan prices, validity and benefits.
Reliance Jio has launched new prepaid plans for voice-only in India, thus providing customers with an economical choice other than the traditional prepaid pack comprising calling, SMS, and mobile data. The launch by the company is preceded by the launch by Airtel and Vi in response to the order issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
By opting for the voice-only prepaid packs, the customers of Jio are able to continue utilizing their sim card for calling and messages without the cost of any internet data they may not require. The voice-only prepaid packs from Jio vary between Rs 147 and Rs 1,748 with validity between 22 days and 336 days.
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Jio Voice-Only Prepaid Plans: Price and Validity
Jio currently offers six voice-only prepaid recharge options, catering to customers looking for different validity periods and recharge budgets. The entry-level Rs 147 plan provides 22 days of validity, while the most expensive Rs 1,748 plan comes with an extended validity of 336 days.
Here is the complete list of Jio voice-only prepaid plans, including their prices, validity and SMS benefits.
Plan Price | Validity | SMS Benefits |
Rs 147 | 22 days | 300 SMS |
Rs 177 | 28 days | 300 SMS |
Rs 196 | 30 days | 300 SMS |
Rs 197 | 1 month | 300 SMS |
Rs 448 | 84 days | 1,000 SMS |
Rs 1,748 | 336 days | 3,600 SMS |
As the name suggests, these plans primarily offer unlimited voice calling along with the specified SMS benefits. However, they do not include any bundled mobile data. Customers who recharge with these packs should therefore not expect regular internet data benefits or complimentary 5G data services.
These recharge options could be particularly useful for senior citizens, feature phone users, budget-conscious customers and people maintaining a secondary SIM card. They are also suitable for users who mostly stay connected to Wi-Fi and rarely use mobile internet.
How to Recharge Jio Voice-Only Plans?
The voice-only recharges by Jio are available through the MyJio application itself. However, the consumers have to look into a specific area in the MyJio application which has been added especially for the packs that are mandated by TRAI.
In order to buy a voice-only recharge from these TRAI-mandated packs, the consumer needs to open his/her MyJio application and head towards the mobile recharge tab. Under this section, the user will find a banner labeled as TRAI Mandated Packs. In this section, there is a special label named as Voice Only Plan.
Can You Add Data Benefits to Jio Voice-Only Plans?
While there are no internet data facilities available in the voice-only packs introduced by Jio, customers, who sometimes require mobile data, can buy individual data packs.
For example, Jio has individual data packs, including Rs 55 for 3 GB of data, Rs 100 for 6 GB, and Rs 195 for 15 GB of data. This way, customers can add benefits of internet anytime rather than buying a full data-included prepaid pack each month.
This could be a convenient choice for people, who largely rely on Wi-Fi but sometimes require mobile data.
Jio vs Airtel vs Vi
With Jio entering the race along with other two providers of voice-only recharges – Airtel and Vodafone Idea, Indian users get more options for voice-only recharge packages.
Indeed, Jio offers voice-only packages at relatively reasonable prices, especially for the packages with lower costs. The gap is especially apparent in packages that have low validity period (for example, 28 or 30 days).
In case you need only unlimited calling along with some number of SMS benefits, it is possible to make a comparison of available packages from all three providers and choose the package that will suit you both in terms of cost and recharge needs.
However, the choice is not limited to the prices only. Network coverage and quality of the services in a certain region play an important role.
Are Jio's Voice-Only Plans Really Worth It?
The voice-only plans offered by Jio can also be an ideal solution for many, depending on how the customer makes use of his/her mobile data plan. For those who rarely use mobile data to get connected to the internet, having a prepaid recharge plan with data features per day is not really worthwhile.
This kind of package is most likely going to serve the purpose of anyone using a feature phone, mostly for making and receiving phone calls, or keeping a second SIM card for making online payments or communicating for important purposes. This package can also be of use for elderly members of a family using mobile data only for communication purposes.
On the contrary, if any smartphone user accesses the internet on a daily basis or works from his/her smartphone, this package will not suit him/her at all. For comparison, Jio's entry-level regular prepaid plan with 1.5GB of daily data, unlimited calling and 100 SMS per day starts at Rs 239. Meanwhile, prepaid plans offering 2GB of daily data start at Rs 349, with validity of 28 days and above.
This means the Rs 147 voice-only recharge is considerably cheaper than a regular data-inclusive plan. However, customers should remember that the two recharge categories serve different purposes.
Jio's introduction of voice-only prepaid plans gives Indian mobile users another way to manage their recharge expenses. Starting at Rs 147, these plans offer an alternative for people who do not need regular mobile internet access but still want to keep their numbers active for calling and messaging.
The availability of separate data add-on packs also gives customers some flexibility, allowing them to purchase internet benefits only when required. While traditional prepaid plans remain more suitable for regular smartphone users, Jio's new voice-only options could be a useful choice for senior citizens, feature phone users and customers looking for affordable calling-focused recharges.
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