State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has revised downward replacement charge for SIM cards to Rs50 from Rs100 earlier.
In fact, BSNL halved SIM replacement charges in August when it
introduced a promotional offer to reduce the SIM replacement cost to
Rs50 for a period of 90 days. This has now been extended on a permanent
basis.
BSNL said the reduced rates are applicable for both prepaid and
post-paid customers. The new change is already effective across all the
telecom circles where BSNL is operating right now.
“It is hereby conveyed that the SIM replacement cost is regularised
as Rs 50 under GSM prepaid and post-paid mobile services,” said BSNL.
Reliance Jio does not charge customers for replacing the SIM card,
while Airtel and Vodafone Idea charge less than Rs30 for the same. Even
for MNP customers, Reliance Jio offers the SIM card for free without any
charges.
BSNL currently operates in 20 telecom circles and the planned
merger with MTNL will give it access to all 22 telecom circles,
including Mumbai and Delhi.
BSNL hiked SIM replacement charges by 100 per cent to Rs100 from Rs10 in 2018.
Last month, BSNL revised the Rs1,699 annual prepaid plan to add
extra benefits for users who recharge before 31 October. Under the
Diwali offer, the validity of the Rs1,699 prepaid plan has been extended
to 455 days from the original 365 days, which meant that BSNL customers
who recharged with this amount before 31 October have received 90 days
of additional validity.
