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Jio Prime offer to expire tomorrow, and here is what you gain or lose from it.

Year 2016 was a monumental year for Indian telecom industry because this is the year when Jio entered the market and started offering its services, not at a price that would have made it the cheapest service, but for free. Never before a telecom company offered services like this. For no cost at all to consumers. Since it entered the market, Jio is offering free services. But that will end this March 31 as the Happy New Year offer from Jio comes to an end. Instead, from April 1 Jio is hoping that users will move to Jio Prime, which is company's special membership plan for users.

In other words, this also means that Jio services will not be free from April. No free data. No free calls. No free messaging. You will have to get either a Jio plan, whether you are a pre-paid user or a post-paid Jio users. In January Jio announced that it would no longer be a free service and would charge users after March 31, 2017. The Happy New Year Offer, which was launched at the start of this year, is nearing its end and now user will have to pay for voice calls, Jio bouquet of services and 4G data. The membership costs only Rs 99 and last date for enrollment is March 31. It is rumoured that company may extend this deadline but nothing is confirmed yet. It has also been rumoured that until now over 40 million Jio users have enrolled for the Prime service. But that too has not yet been officially confirmed by Reliance Jio.

So what is Jio Prime and what are its benefits?  How does Prime subscription is beneficial? How well does it fare against the other telecom companies? What happens if you don't take Prime membership? These and many more similar questions, we answer here.

what is Jio Prime?

Jio is no more going to be a free business and the company is bringing this shift with Jio Prime subscription. Actually, this is a way for company to lock in subscribers, with a special membership program. The enrollment fee costs Rs 99 per year (for now) and after that you have to take monthly plans to avail free data and voice calls. Please note that the subscription is non-refundable and last date of enrollment as announced by the company is

March 31. Jio Prime is only valid for existing Jio users or those who get a new SIM activated on or before 31st March 2017, the day the Happy New Year offer ends.

What does Jio Prime offer?

Jio Prime membership costs Rs 99 for a year. To start with, this membership gets you more data for the same price. So for example, if the Rs 303 Jio plan gives a regular users 2.5GB data and free calls, to the Prime member the same plans offers 28GB 4G data, free calls and unlimited data at the speed of 128kbps in case the 28GB quota gets exhausted. Prime members get total ten recharge plans to choose from. These recharge plans start from Rs 19 and go all the way up to Rs 9999 offering free voice calls, 4G data, SMSes and Jio services.

More about the Rs 303 offer...

The Rs 303 offer, once paired with a Prime membership, which costs Rs 99 per year, is essentially the extension of the exact service that you get right now with Jio Happy New Year offer. As part of Happy New Year offer, consumers get free 1GB data at 4Gb speeds daily. They also get unlimited data at lower speed (128kbps) once the 1GB 4G data has been exhausted. Then they get free VoLTE calls and free SMS. This is the same service users will get with Rs 303 plan. So if you like the what Jio offers right now, and if you deem its service worth paying for, this is the plan you should opt for.        

How can you subscribe to Jio Prime membership?

You can subscribe to Jio Prime membership via MyJio app, Jio site or at any Jio Store.

Is Jio Prime available for post-paid users?

Yes, Jio Prime membership is available to both pre-paid and post-paid users. However, for post-paid users there are only three recharge plans -- Rs 303, Rs 499 and Rs 999.

What happens if you don't take Prime subscription?

There are other recharge options available if you don't want to go for Prime subscription. These recharge plans start from Rs 19 and go all the way up to Rs 9,999.  You will get free voice calls, SMSes and fixed amount of 4G data under these offers. In case you run out of data in the middle of the month, you can take a data add on to continue using uninterrupted internet. There are five such boosters packs: Rs 11, Rs 51, Rs 91, Rs 201 and Rs 301.

Is Jio Prime better than company's other recharge offers?

Prime members get almost double the 4G data offered to non-Prime members. Also the validity is longer for Prime users. For example Under Rs 303 plan, Prime users get unlimited data while non-Prime users can access only 2.5GB data for 28 days. Rs 999 plans comes with 60 days validity for Prime members while non-Prime ones can enjoy the recharge only for 30 days. So yes, if you want to enjoy Jio's extra data and free voice calls then Prime subscription is any day a better option for you.

What is Jio Prime buy one get one free offer?

This is a new offer launched by Jio for those who sign up for Prime before March 31, 2017. Jio Prime members who opt for a recharge of Rs 149, Rs 303 and Rs 499 will be given extra data by the company. This means if you recharge for Rs 149, you will get an add-on worth Rs 51 which will give you 1GB additional data . User who  recharge for Rs 303 will get an add-on worth Rs 201 free which will give you 5GB of additional data --  A recharge of Rs 499 and above will fetch you a free add-on of 301 rupees with an additional 10GB of data. These benefits will be automatically activated by Jio once you recharge you account. It is imperative however, to do a recharge before 31st March, 2017.

How does Jio Prime fare against Airtel's 345 and Vodafone's Rs 346 plans?

Airtel and Vodafone launched two aggressive plans to match against Jio Prime. Airtel's Rs 345 plan offers 28GB of high-speed data for 28 days. The FUP is set at 1GB but the users will be able to use only 500MB of data during the day, while the remaining 500MB can be used between 12am to 6am. For no limits on timings, users can go for Rs 549 recharge. Also calls beyond the 1,200 bundled minutes will be charged at 30 paise  per minute. This pack is available only for prepaid users.

Also Read: If you are not a Prime member here is what Reliance Jio will give you

Vodafone offers Rs 346 pack under which user gets 28GB of mobile data and unlimited free calls. FUP is 1GB per day and once the limit is reached, user will be charged.

For Prime members, Jio at Rs 303 offers unlimited free voice calls, SMSes, Jio apps subscription, unlimited data and 28GB 4G data with FUP of 1GB per day. The pack is available for both post-paid and pre-paid Prime users.

The interesting bit here is that the Jio plans are available to all users. However, the Airtel and Vodafone plans, along with those offered by others, are only available to select users. It's like a lottery. Some users get them, most don't.

So, what are the advantages of Jio Prime?

It is fairly obvious. Jio users get more data at the same price. Also, in future there might be more special offers for them.

And what is the harm in getting Prime?

If you are going to use Jio, there is no harm in getting the Prime membership. It is pretty obvious. But do remember that you will spend Rs 99 per year and then you will have to get a recharge done regularly to maintain the Prime membership.

But if you are not going to use Jio after March 31, you can safely ignore the Prime membership. Another key point to note here is that Prime right now is a sort of promotional offer. In future, say after a year, the membership cost may increase.

It also comes with a few strings attached, such as that regular recharge condition. The good bit, though, is that the overall cost of the Jio Prime is still quite low.