Bharti Airtel to increase prepaid plan prices from November 26; Check revised rates

In a statement released on Monday, Bharti Airtel has said that it will increase prepaid tariffs by up to 25% from November 26, 2021. Depending upon the existing price of the prepaid plans, the tariff has been increased from Rs. 20 on the most affordable to Rs. 501 on the most expensive rechargeable plan from Airtel. The Indian telecommunication service provider says that increasing mobile prepaid tariffs will help the company increase the Average Revenue Per User. 

Earlier this year, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal called out for an increase in tariff rate. In its statement, Airtel mentions that the increase in prices will help maintain a healthy business model within the company and enable the company to invest in the upcoming 5G technology. The telco wants an average revenue per user of Rs. 300, which the current revenue per user stands at Rs. 153. However, the Airtel tariff hike might be daunting for the customers, especially those who subscribed to the most affordable packs offered by Airtel. 

Airtel tariff hike: Prices increased from the basic to the most expensive recharge pack

Starting from the most basic prepaid mobile recharge pack, the Rs. 79 pack will cost Rs. 99 post November 26, 2021. It provides 200MB of data and one paisa/sec voice tariff. The Rs. 149 pack will cost Rs. 179 (a hike of Rs. 30) and offer unlimited calling along with 100 SMS per day and 2GB of data for 28 days. Talking about another popular Airtel prepaid recharge plan, the Rs. 249 package will cost Rs. 299 (a hike of Rs. 50) and offer unlimited calling, 100 SMS per day and 1.5GB/day of data for 28 days. 

Moving towards the more expensive plans, the Rs. 449 recharge pack will cost Rs. 549 (a hike of Rs. 100) and will provide unlimited calling, 100 SMS per day and 2GB data/day for 56 days. The Rs. 598 pack will cost Rs. 719 from November 26, 2021, and offer similar benefits as that in the Rs. 249 pack. for a total of 84 days. It is important to note that recharge packs worth Rs. 1,498 and Rs. 2,498 will cost Rs. 1,799 and Rs. 2,999 respectively (a hike of Rs. 301 and Rs. 501). It will be interesting to see whether other telecom operators in the country follow the Airtel price hike.

How does the Airtel price hike stand against other companies?

The Rs. 149 pack of Airtel, which will now cost Rs. 179, offers 100 SMS and 2GB of data for 28 days. A Rs.149 recharge pack from Vodafone Idea provides unlimited calls, 300 SMS and 2GB of data for 28 days. Additionally, the Rs. 149 recharge from Reliance Jio offers 1GB per day for 24 days, with unlimited calls and a cap of 100 SMS per day. Stay tuned for more updates like the Airtel price hike.