After Idea Cellular, Airtel has now slashed its prepaid data tariffs by up to 67 percent preempting Reliance Jio launch next month.
Airtel has today slashed data tariffs for its 2G, 3G and 4G prepaid users. In essence, the company has increased the amount of data one gets on each plan by up to 67 percent. Airtel’s announcement comes days after Idea Cellular too slashed prepaid data tariffs by up to 45 percent. The moves come after reports of Reliance Jio planning to launch its services next month. Even if it doesn’t launch commercially, Reliance Jio is expanding its free Preview Offer from just LYF smartphones to Samsung Galaxy smartphones and even Apple iPhones.
Under the revised plans, a user opting for Rs 655 monthly pack will now get 5GB of 4G data as opposed to 3GB earlier. In other words, the user gets 67 percent data benefit. Similarly, users opting for Rs 989 or Rs 455 plans will get 10GB (up from 6.5GB) and 3GB (up from 2GB) data respectively. A detailed table of the revised tariffs follows.
|
Pack Type |
MRP (Rs) |
Current Data Benefit |
New Data Benefit |
Validity |
Percentage Increase |
|
4G/3G |
455 |
2GB |
3GB |
28 days |
50 percent |
|
4G/3G |
655 |
3GB |
5GB |
28 days |
67 percent |
|
4G/3G |
755 |
4GB |
6GB |
28 days |
50 percent |
|
4G/3G |
855 |
5GB |
7GB |
28 days |
40 percent |
|
4G/3G |
989 |
6.5GB |
10GB |
28 days |
54 percent |
Airtel has also revised rates of its sachet packs, and users are now entitled to up to 48 percent benefits. If a user buys Rs 5 worth of 2G recharge, he will now get 30MB of data, up from 20MB. Similarly, a Rs 25 2G pack offers 145MB of data as opposed to 100MB of data earlier. A detailed table of the revised rates follows.
|
Pack Type |
MRP (Rs) |
Current Data Benefit |
New Data Benefit |
Validity |
Percentage Increase |
|
4G/3G |
5 |
15MB |
20MB |
1 day |
32 percent |
|
4G/3G |
23 |
70MB |
90MB |
3 days |
29 percent |
|
4G/3G |
53 |
160MB |
200MB |
5 days |
25 percent |
|
4G/3G |
145 |
440MB |
580MB |
14 days |
32 percent |
|
2G |
5 |
20MB |
30MB |
1 day |
48 percent |
|
2G |
25 |
100MB |
145MB |
3 days |
45 percent |
Earlier this week, Airtel had announced a ‘Happy Hours’ plan for its prepaid users. As a part of this plan, prepaid customers will get 50 percent of their data back for all in-app downloads between 3.00AM and 5.00AM. In essence, if a user downloads 100MB of in-app downloads in this time period, he will get 50MB credited to his account next morning. Currently, this scheme is only applicable on selected apps.
“At Airtel, we always aim to deliver a great mobile experience and value to our customers. These refreshed data packs will help drive consumption and boost the uptake of mobile internet in the country,” Ajai Puri, Director – Operations (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel said. “Given the deepening smartphone penetration and Airtel’s roll-out of data networks across India, we believe these packs will also drive affordability and bring new users online.”
These price cuts by the likes of Airtel and Idea Cellular come at a time when the buzz around Reliance Jio launch is at an all-time high. The company is expected to launch its 4G services in the next few weeks, and as we reported yesterday, its prepaid data tariffs are eight times cheaper than what Airtel or Vodafone offers. Needless to say, Jio entry’s into the space will shake up the industry.
Source: bgr.in
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