Idea launches free calling scheme for pre-paid customers

NEW DELHI: Aimed at matching Rel Jio tariff rates, Idea Cellular today announced two schemes to provide free calls to its pre-paid customer bundles with limited mobile internet service. "Priced around Rs 148 and Rs 348, these packs provide the customers with unlimited voice calls to anywhere in India, along with data benefits," Idea said in a statement. Upon recharging with Rs 148, Idea customers will be able to make free Local and STD Idea-to-Idea calls across India and get 50MB of data. Customers with 4G handsets will get 300 MB of data in addition to voice benefit, the statement said. The Rs 348 scheme will offer free Local and STD calls across all networks in India along with 50MB of data. In the same pack, customers with 4G handsets will get 1 GB of data in addition to voice benefit, the statement said. The validity of both packs is 28 days and the price of the packs will differ slightly from circle to circle, it added. Earlier in the day, Bharti Airtel too announced similar scheme with scheme priced at Rs 149 and Rs 349.