Bharti Airtel has discontinued four prepaid plans nationwide, priced at Rs. 299, Rs. 579, Rs. 619, and Rs. 649. The Rs. 299 plan will now be replaced by a Rs. 349 plan, representing a 16% price increase. The company’s focus is on improving ARPU and generating revenue from high-data customers by changing its tariff structure.
If you use Airtel’s prepaid plan, this news is important for you. Bharti Airtel has discontinued four prepaid plans across the country: Rs. 299, Rs. 579, Rs. 619, and Rs. 649. The Rs. 299 plan is the most talked about, as it has been replaced by a Rs. 349 plan. This means the starting price of this plan has increased by 16%. Airtel’s move is being seen as an attempt to change the company’s tariff system. According to sources, the company’s aim is to increase its average revenue per user (ARPU). Airtel has long advocated for a pricing system in the telecom sector that charges higher prices to customers who use more data. The company is focused on developing such a pricing system.
Gopal Vittal had already hinted at this.
Bharti Airtel Executive Vice-Chairman Gopal Vittal had highlighted the need for such a change during a discussion on the company’s Q1FY27 results last month. He stated that the most important task was to “correct the pricing architecture.” He argued that offering unlimited data at very low prices limits ARPU and is not a long-term sustainable model for telecom companies. However, there has been no immediate statement from the company regarding the price change.
The Rs. 299 plan is now replaced by a Rs. 349 pack.
Airtel has discontinued its popular Rs. 299 prepaid plan and replaced it with a Rs. 349 plan. This represents a 16% increase in the plan’s price. However, the new plan also offers more data. The new Rs. 349 plan offers 2GB of data per day for 28 days. The previous Rs. 299 plan offered 1.5GB of data per day.
Rs. 249 and Rs. 299 options also removed
Airtel has also discontinued the mid-tier Rs. 249 and Rs. 299 plans. This has reduced the options available between prepaid plan prices. The company’s cheapest Rs. 199 plan remains available, offering 2GB of data for 28 days. The next option is the Rs. 219 plan, which offers 3GB of data for 28 days.
A plan to earn more from customers who use more data
According to Airtel’s Executive Vice-Chairman, Gopal Vittal, as incomes in India increase, customers may shift from smaller data plans to larger ones. Therefore, if telecom companies improve their pricing structures, they can increase ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) earnings over the next five to seven years. This doesn’t necessarily require increasing the price of the cheapest plan.
Telecom companies will have to change their pricing approach
Vittal says the telecom industry will need to make significant changes to its pricing approach in the coming years. He believes that if customers are using more data, they should pay a correspondingly higher price. This will allow companies to increase their revenue without increasing tariffs for all customers at once.
If changes are not made, tariffs may increase
If telecom companies are unable to make such changes to their pricing structures, they may have to increase core tariffs to increase ARPU and continue network investments.
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