New Jio Fiber Broadband Plans Review- My Honest take

JIO recently made some changes to their existing broadband plans. Their broadband plans now start from Rs. 399 exclusive of GST. So, is it a deal-breaker for you or not?

Check out my Honest opinion in this New JIO Fiber Broadband Plans Review.

JIO FIBER – A look back

India witnessed the data revolution post the launch of JIO 4G services in India. Soon after the launch of 4G services, JIO ( led by Mr Mukesh Ambani ) broke all the records for acquiring maximum numbers of consumers in a very short time.

It won’t be wrong to say that JIO is the reason why most people now own a 4G VOLTE enabled Smartphone. It marked a rapid upgrade from the 3G network in India.

JIO didn’t settle with just 4G service but announced the launch of JIOFIBER ( Fiber Broadband Service ), and other services like VR Enabled Gaming, First Day Shows, etc. for which we will definitely talk in other posts.

Since the announcement, JIO launched its fiber broadband services in more than 200 cities and still is working on adding up more.

Old JIO FIBER PLANS

Before the announcement, there was a massive buzz in the tech industry regarding the plans and services to be offered by JIO Fiber. It was previously termed as – “JIO GigaFiber”.

Several screenshots were leaked ( fake ), showcasing how cheap the plans of JIOFiber are going to be. Some even claimed that Jio is going to offer Unlimited internet starting from Rs. 500/month with 100Mbps speed.

Even the Tech reporters, Tech Youtube Channels, etc. touted that the plans are going to be so cheap that it is going to blow everyone’s mind.

But all the claims and expectations fell upside down when Mukesh Ambani revealed the plans officially in Reliance Annual General Meetings.

Monthly Plans	Bronze	Silver	Gold	Diamond	Platinum	Titanium
Cost	Rs. 699+ 18% GST	Rs. 849+ 18% GST	Rs. 1,299+ 18% GST	Rs. 2,499+ 18% GST	Rs.3,999+18%GST	Rs.8,499+ 18% GST
Internet Speed	100Mbps	100Mbps	250Mbps	500Mbps	1Gbps	1Gbps
FUP	100GB + 50GB	200GB + 200GB	500GB + 250GB	1250GB + 250GB	2500GB	5000GB

Company levied a refundable installation charge of Rs. 4500 and Rs. 2500 ( according to plans and router ).

The monthly plan started with Rs. 699 + GST and went upto whopping Rs. 8499 ( + GST ) for 1Gbps Plan. And if it was not enough, what was even more shocking that the plans had a data cap.

This means that the data limit in the plans was not at all unlimited. In approximately Rs. 825, consumers were offered meager 100 GB + 50 GB of data. All the claims of cheaper pricing and unlimited data proved to be wrong.

Consequences of such impractical broadband Plans

• So much hype was created before the JioFiber launch that the expectations among the people were too high. Everyone thought that JIO is going to disrupt the broadband market as it did with the JIO 4G launch.
• Since plans were priced on a higher side, the already established Broadband Giants like Airtel Xpress, ACT Fiber, Hathaway, etc. had no or minimal impact.
• Also, the government-owned BSNL too survived the launch very well due to it’s wider penetration in even smaller towns and villages.
• The local ISPs were already providing a much cheaper rate. 
• For Example- In Gautam Nagar, I was subscribed to a local ISP, and it provided me 50mbps speed in Rs. 500 ( including GST ). 
• Such people like me didn’t even give a second thought to switching to JioFiber.

Soon, all the hype died.

Company’s strategy to woo the customer failed drastically. They even thought to capture the small towns and cities where there was significantly less or no broadband penetration. But due to such a high price, these price-sensitive markets didn’t show any interest in their service.

Also, people living in smaller cities didn’t have such a tendency to consume more and more data. Majority of the people are happy with the daily 2Gb plan offered in the 4G mobile plan.

New Jio Fiber Broadband Plans

With such continuous negative feedback, JioFiber was in much need of revamping the current plans and prices. People continually denied even to give it a try.

At last, new Jio Fiber Broadband plans have been launched by the company keeping all the bad experiences from the past.

As you can see above, the new installation rates have been decreased and are offered in two plans-

INFO	Plan A ( Rs. 1500 )	Plan B ( Rs. 2500 )
Modem	Yes	Yes
4k Set Top Box	–	Yes
First Month ( 30 Days )	Free	Free
Calling ( Voice )	Free	Free
Famous OTT Apps	–	Available
Refundable amount	Rs. 1500	Rs. 2500
Data Limit	Unlimited	Unlimited
Internet Speed	150 mbps ( upto )	150 mbps ( upto )

Note-

• The refund process will only be valid if you opt to discontinue their service before 30 days and return the device in working condition. I would suggest asking the representative well in advance about the refund process and price.
• You must keep in mind that the activation of OTT services like Netflix and Amazon should be done by the consumers themselves on the first usage through Jio SET-TOP BOX. So, not all the OTT services are free if we consider the trial period of 30 days.

Now let’s look at the New Jio Fiber Monthly Broadband plans–

Price (Monthly)	Rs. 399	Rs. 699	Rs. 999	Rs.1499	Rs. 1499	Rs. 2499	Rs. 8499
Price with GST	Rs.470.82	Rs.824.82	Rs.1178.82	Rs.1768.82	Rs.2948.82	Rs.4718.82	Rs.10028.82
Internet Speed	30 mbps	100 mbps	150 mbps	300 mbps	500 mbps	1 Gbps	1 Gbps
Data Limit	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
CUP	3300 GB	3300 GB	3300 GB	3300 GB	3300 GB	3300 GB	6600 GB
Apps Subscription	–	–	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Calling (Voice)	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free	Free

• CUP is Commercial Usage Policy

Features of the new broadband Plans from JIO.

1. With the new Plans and pricing, JIO tried to fulfil the customer’s demand for lower data prices. The initial plan of Rs. 399 is an excellent option for people who want to spend less but have decent data usage.
2. You would have noticed that the OTT Apps are not made available with the first two plans and are bundled with the plan of Rs. 999 and above. This makes it a good move by the JIO to woo the new consumers of Netflix, Amazon prime etc.
3. You must note that the prices mentioned on the JIO’s official site are exclusive of GST. So, I have mentioned the prices, including GST, for your better understanding.
4. Most important- Although the data is Unlimited, JIO fiber is following the Commercial Usage Policy ( CUP ) which means after the usage of 3300 GB data, you may face speed drop. They have not mentioned it clearly about it.
5. The highest-priced plan i.e. Rs. 8499 has a larger CUP of 6600 GB.
6. The internet speeds mentioned are for both Downloading and Uploading. There is now no difference in downloading and Uploading speed in the new plan.
7. Existing customers can access the older plans they were subscribed to. But they can easily shift to the newer plans if they wish to.

AIRTEL XSTREAM FIBER Plans Revised Too

Since the new plans of JioFiber are way competitive, Airtel Xstream Fiber Plans have been revamped too. Airtel was forced to revise their existing plans to combat the latest price war.

It’s plan now starts with Rs. 499 which offers a speed of 40 Mbps with unlimited data. It seems quite competitive. Let’s compare them side by side.

Jio Fiber Vs Airtel Xstream Fiber Broadband Plans Comparison

Internet Speed	Jio Fiber	Airtel Xstream
30 Mbps	Rs. 399
40 Mbps		Rs. 499
100 Mbps	Rs. 699	Rs. 799
150 Mbps	Rs. 999
200 Mbps		Rs. 999
300 Mbps	Rs. 1499	Rs. 1499
500 Mbps	Rs. 2499
1 Gbps	Rs. 3999 & Rs. 8499	Rs. 8499

After comparing both the plans, we can easily analyse that –

• Easily we can see that the plans of Airtel Estream Fiber are very much competitive.
• Even some of the plans have similar prices and offerings.
• All the plans offered by both the companies are unlimited in data usage. However, you must keep in mind about the CUP ( Commercial Usage Policy ).
• Airtel has tried to counteract the JIO Fiber by providing more data speed in a few plans.
• All the prices are exclusive of GST, so please calculate accordingly.

Why we didn’t compare other operators with the New Jio Fiber Broadband Plans review

The closest competitors of JIO Fiber are Airtel Xstream, Tata Sky and BSNL.

Tata Sky broadband services are not even available in many major cities in India. Also, their prices are way higher. Their monthly plan starts from Rs. 999 ( plus GST ) and offers just 25 Mbps speed.

The plans are nowhere comparable to the first two telecom giants.

On the other hand, BSNL has a wildly varying price distribution according to data usage. Also, the plans have data cap limits. For example- the initial plan costs Rs. 499 and provides 100 GB of data only. Post usage data the speed goes down to 2 Mbps.

The plans are way impractical in the current scenario and competition.  

Service Support

This is the most crucial aspect while choosing a broadband service. When you own a mobile service provider, you have an option of PORTING to another network quickly and at a lower price. 

Whereas switching from a broadband service provider to another is not that easy. Also, frequent speed issues, installation process, billing issues etc. must be taken care of. 

Through my personal experience, I have found that Airtel hands down provides better service support than JIO. Tons of complaints are already floating on the forums and websites like quora regarding the pathetic customer service of JIO Fiber.

People have generally complained about the issue of no response from the customer service on installation delay, pre-billing, refund etc. 

The other main aspect is the reach and availability of the service. In this area, both Jio Fiber and Airtel Xstream suffer. However, they seem working hard to connect the major cities but have not managed to lay down the fiber cables to every part inside the city. 

You can notice on the website of Airtel that besides some of the cities it says – “Invite Now” and “Coming Soon “. Which means they have not even been able to reach many cities.

BSNL wins in this front due to its vast broadband penetration. But it’s pathetic plans, and horrific customer support is something which holds me back from even recommending it.

Conclusion

The revised new Jio Fiber Broadband Plans has once again lit the price war in the broadband service sector in India. People expected this type of plan during Jio fiber’s launch, but Jio didn’t deliver that then.

But with the new plans, Jio must be hoping to counter the customer’s demand for cheaper and Unlimited data. This will undoubtedly boost its customer base in the Broadband sector. Although Airtel too has revised it’s plan, it will be interesting to see how they manage to combat JIO.

But again check wisely which service provider is serving in your locality before paying for the service in advance. Also, you must check what the feedback of their service in your locality is.

If you are someone who is very much inclined to quality service, then it is better to stick to Airtel Xstream Fiber Broadband. But if you are new to Fiber broadband and want to experience the high speeds, you can opt for JIO Fiber.