Aircel tries to match Jio with its latest offer
Aircel tries to match Jio with its latest offerReuters file

If you have been trying to look for Reliance Jio alternatives (for no obvious reasons), you are in luck. Aircel launched a new scheme that matches Jio's Happy New Year offer in the best possible way.

You must understand that any existing company cannot go straight out and match Jio's free offerings, but they are trying their best to keep up. Aircel has placed its strongest bet against Jio by offering 90 days of free voice calls and data services in one bundle priced at Rs. 148. In all fairness, Aircel subscribers who do not wish to buy a new SIM card can certainly make the most of this special offer.

But there's a catch. Not all Aircel subscribers can avail this offer as it is exclusively available in Delhi NCR. Even though the calling benefit across the country is free for 90 days, customers get unlimited 2G data only for one month, post which customers will have to recharge for minimum Rs. 50 in second and third month to continue the free calling benefits.

"Customers will enjoy free Aircel to Aircel (Local and STD) and also Free Aircel to others (local and STD with a free usage of 15,000 seconds (250 minutes) per month for three months for 90 days with the First Recharge of Rs 148," Aircel said in a statement.

But if you compare Aircel's offer with Jio's Happy New Year offer, it is not even a close match. Jio offers 4G data and not 2G without any limits for 90 days. There is an FUP limit, but it only kicks in after using 1GB data in a day, which is frankly quite sufficient for an average user.

In addition to the free 4G data, Jio covers all your voice calls over a high-definition network. Although the company had some rough patches initially, the calling coverage is much better these days. The company vows to improve it further in the coming days.

Finally, Jio offers free national SMS, roaming and access to its library of My Jio apps, which gives access to latest movies, music, TV shows, magazines, news and more. Since we are comparing Jio's offer with Aircel's, it is not limited to any particular region in India.