Bharti Airtel on Wednesday discontinued its popular Rs 299 prepaid recharge plan, with the telecom operator's cheapest unlimited plan now starting at Rs 349. The company has also removed several other prepaid plans from its portfolio, including the Rs 319, Rs 649 and Rs 799 plans.
The changes are part of what analysts have described as Airtel's tariff rationalisation exercise.
What Are The New Recharge Prices?
Airtel has not only discontinued four major prepaid plans but has also made several changes to its prepaid portfolio. The company has discontinued the Rs 299 plan, which offered 28 days of validity and 1GB of data per day. Now, the new base plan for unlimited recharges is Rs 349 for 28 days, with a data allowance of 1.5GB per day, according to analysts at Centrum Broking.
This means customers who previously paid Rs 299 for the plan will now have to pay Rs 50 more for the same validity and daily data allowance. The revised base plan represents a 16.7% ARPU increase, noted analysts.
Meanwhile, the Rs 859 plan remains available but has become costlier, with its price increased to Rs 899.
What Are Airtel's Cheaper Options?
For customers looking for lower-priced prepaid plans, Airtel's Rs 199 plan continues to be available. It offers 2GB of total data with a 28-day validity. The Rs 219 plan is another option and provides 3GB of total data for 28 days. However, customers seeking an unlimited plan will now have to spend at least Rs 349.
The latest changes come amid expectations of another round of tariff hikes in India's telecom sector.
Market reports and research analyses have suggested that Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea could raise prepaid and postpaid tariffs by around 12% to 15% in the coming months.
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