Airtel on Friday announced that it was revising the price of its prepaid recharge plans and postpaid plans, with costs increasing by as much as 20 percent. The telecom operator said the new prices are part of its efforts to increase the mobile average revenue per user (ARPU). The tariffs for prepaid and postpaid data plans will be revised next week, according to the operator. The Airtel price hike comes hours after rival Reliance Jio announced new tariffs on Thursday, increasing the prices of its plans in the country.
Airtel price hike for prepaid plans
Once the new tariffs go into effect, Airtel prepaid customers will have to pay more to access the company's data and calling plans. The telecom operator says that it is looking to increase the ARPU beyond Rs. 300 in order to remain profitable while continuing to invest in spectrum and network technology.
You can refer to the table below to see the updated pricing for each plan. The annual Rs. 1,799 recharge plan and Rs. 2,999 plan will increase by Rs. 200 and Rs. 600, respectively. It's worth noting that all prepaid recharge plans offer unlimited voice calls and up to 100 SMS per day, except the last three entries in the table as they are data add on packs.
| Old Price | New Price | Data Allowance | Validity (Days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 179 | 199 | 2GB | 28 |
| 455 | 509 | 6GB | 84 |
| 1799 | 1999 | 24GB | 365 |
| 265 | 299 | 1GB per day | 28 |
| 299 | 349 | 1.5GB per day | 28 |
| 359 | 409 | 2.5GB per day | 28 |
| 399 | 449 | 3GB per day | 28 |
| 479 | 579 | 1.5GB per day | 56 |
| 549 | 649 | 2GB per day | 56 |
| 719 | 859 | 1.5GB per day | 84 |
| 839 | 979 | 2GB per day | 84 |
| 2999 | 3599 | 2GB per day | 365 |
| 19 (Data add-on) | 22 | 1GB | 1 |
| 29 (Data add-on) | 33 | 2GB | 1 |
| 65 (Data add-on) | 77 | 4GB | Plan Validity |
Airtel postpaid plan price increase
Airtel postpaid plans have also been hiked, which means that customers will have to pay a higher monthly bill starting from July. The Rs. 399 plan that offers one connection with 40GB of data and an Xstream Premium subscription will soon cost Rs. 449. Meanwhile, the Rs. 499 plan that offered 75GB of data, as well as Xstream Premium, Disney+ Hotstar, and Amazon Prime subscriptions, will be hiked to Rs. 549.
Two other postpaid plans will also be hiked, according to the telecom operator. The Rs. 599 plan that offers two connections with 1005GB of data will cost Rs. 699, while the Rs. 999 plan that offers four connections and 190GB of data will soon be priced at Rs. 1,199. Both these plans offer Xstream Premium, Disney+ Hotstar, Airtel Wynk, and Amazon Prime subscriptions.
New Airtel tariffs to be effective in July
Airtel says that the new tariffs for prepaid recharge plans and postpaid plans will be effective from July 3. As of next week, the telecom operator will display the revised pricing for prepaid recharge plans on its website. Similarly, postpaid customers will see the cost of their monthly bill increase as per the new plans, according to the company.
