Jio Prime Membership: To get or not to get, that is the question - India Today

On January 19, Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that Jio's Happy New Year offer will end on March 31. After that there will no more free Jio services. If users want to use Jio after March 31, they will have to subscribe to some plan. But to ensure that Jio is still the cheapest 4G service in the town, he also announced a new membership program called Jio Prime for users. This membership is available at an annual fee of Rs 99.

Since then one of the burning question for Jio users has been whether they should subscribe to the Jio Prime or not. This has become an even more pressing question this week because the deadline to subscribe the Jio Prime is March 31 and although there is talk of extending it, there is no surety of it happening.

The answer, however, is surprisingly easy. You should get the Jio Prime membership if you intend to use Jio SIM. It's as simple as that. Using a Jio SIM without the prime membership is almost foolhardy. It j ust doesn't make any sense because the difference between the regular Jio plans and Jio Prime plans is huge. Just an example. The Rs 303 plan gives the Prime members 28GB 4G (unlimited with lowered speed) with validity of 28 days. In comparison, the regular Jio plan for the same Rs 303 will give Jio users just 2.5GB 4G data.

If you are waiting for better offer from Jio than what it provides to Prime members, you won't get any. If you are hoping that Jio will continue to be free, you will be disappointed. If you want to keep on using Jio, Prime is the way forward

There is just no way you should not get the Jio Prime. The cost is low -- Rs 99 per year comes to less than Rs 9 per month -- and the benefits are immense. On its merits, the Jio Prime makes complete sense. The only factor that you need to consider for the Jio Prime is whether you are going to use the Jio SIM at all or not. A nd that depends on two things.

Is Jio service good enough for you in your area?

This is the biggest reason why you may or may not want to continue with a Jio SIM, and effectively the Jio Prime service. Ahead of its public launch in September last year, Jio was quite fantastic. It had superb data speed. But then it went downhill after the launch. In the last few months, it has again improved. But there are still pockets where it doesn't work that well. There are still moments, and places, where the Jio network seems all lost. If in your area, in your phone, the Jio SIM works well enough and if you are happy with its service, you should get the Jio Prime and continue with Jio.

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

If you are wa iting for better offer from Jio than what it provides to Prime members, you won't get any. If you are hoping that Jio will continue to be free, you will be disappointed. If you want to keep on using Jio, Prime is the way forward.

But in case, Jio services don't work well enough for you, and in your area, there is no point continuing with the Jio SIM, Prime or no Prime.

Airtel, Vodafone or others have better offers for you

This is extremely unlikely, but it is possible that you don't need Jio services because you are already getting better plans from other telecom companies. Although a more plausible scenario is that you are not getting the Jio Prime like plans but whatever plans you are getting from Airtel and others are good enough and when combined with decent services, ensure that you don't need a Jio plan. For examples, Vodafone's Rs 349 plan, available selectively, is quite good. If I have that plan, I will chuck out the Jio SIM and won't even think about the Jio Prime service.

If you fall into this case, the one where you are satisfied with whatever you operator is giving you and you like its service, there is no need for you to subscribe to the Jio Prime. In fact, there is no need for you to use the Jio service.

But in the end, let me say it again, get the Jio Prime if you intend to use the Jio SIM card after March 31. It is the next best thing after the free Jio services, which we know are going to end after March 31.