New Delhi: In a strategic move to take on Reliance Jio’s free cloud storage offer, Bharti Airtel has joined hands with Google to provide 100 GB of Google One cloud storage free for six months to its postpaid and Airtel Wi-Fi customers.
This offer directly counters Jio’s promotional plan, which initially offered 100 GB of free cloud storage but has now been revised to 50 GB without a clear validity period.
After the six-month free access period, Airtel users can subscribe to Google One for ₹125/month, slightly cheaper than Google’s standalone rate of ₹130/month post the standard 15 GB free limit. Comparatively, Google itself offers the 100 GB plan for ₹35/month for the first three months once the basic 15 GB storage is used up.
The push for cloud services by telecom giants comes as Indian smartphone users face rising storage issues, especially with WhatsApp backups now counting against Google cloud quotas. Many users, lacking adequate cloud options, are forced to either delete media or invest in costly physical storage solutions.
Siddharth Sharma, Director – Marketing and CEO, Connected Homes at Airtel, noted:
“With smartphones becoming the main device for managing both personal and professional information, storage has become a significant concern for users. This partnership with Google gives our postpaid and Wi-Fi users an added advantage.”
Airtel’s initiative is also family-friendly, allowing users to share storage with up to five others. It further supports seamless WhatsApp chat backups, particularly easing Android users’ transition between devices.
As of March-end, Airtel had 25.8 million postpaid users among a total mobile base of 361.6 million in India.
Karen Teo, VP, Platforms & Devices Partnerships, APAC at Google, said the collaboration will help users back up photos, videos, Gmail data, and other essential files more easily across Google’s platforms.
Meanwhile, Jio continues to push its Jio AI Cloud for backing up files. While it doesn’t explicitly support WhatsApp data, it allows broader file backup. Jio’s cloud offering was first unveiled by Mukesh Ambani at the company’s 47th AGM in August 2023, with the 100 GB “welcome offer” launching in November. However, after noticing higher data usage, Jio scaled it down to 50 GB. For non-Jio users, the free storage lasts three months unless they port to Jio for extended access.