After Jio, Airtel hikes tariffs across the board, Vodafone to follow

Bharti Airtel, one of India’s leading telecom operators, has hiked up its tariffs for both pre-paid and post-paid plans. The new tariffs are all set to take effect from July 3.

Notably, the revised pricing structure will see costs go up by up to ₹600.

The decision follows a similar move by Jio and is likely to be emulated soon by Vodafone Idea too.

Pre-paid plans

Airtel’s revised pre-paid plans show significant increases across various packages. This includes the unlimited voice plans, which offer data along with unlimited calling and SMS benefits.

The basic plan, previously priced at ₹179 for 28 days with 2GB of data, will now be available for ₹199.

The 84-day plan with 6GB data has gone up from ₹455 to ₹509. The annual plan offering 24GB of data has risen from ₹1,799 to ₹1,999.

Daily data plans

There are hikes in the daily data plans.

The 1GB/day plan for 28 days has risen from ₹265 to ₹299. The 1.5GB/day plan will now cost ₹349, up from ₹299, while the 2.5GB/day plan is priced at ₹409, compared to the earlier ₹359.

The 3GB/day plan for 28 days has gone up from ₹399 to ₹449.

Long duration tariff

For longer durations, the 56-day plan with 1.5GB/day will now cost ₹579, up from ₹479; the 2GB/day plan has increased from ₹549 to ₹649.

The 84-day plan with 1.5GB/day has gone up from ₹719 to ₹859, while the 2GB/day plan now costs ₹979, up from ₹839.

The 2GB/day annual plan has shot up from ₹2,999 to ₹3,599.

Meanwhile, data add-ons have seen a moderate increase. The 1GB add-on for one day has gone from ₹19 to ₹22, the 2GB add-on from ₹29 to ₹33 and the 4GB add-on from ₹65 to ₹77.

Post-paid connections

Post-paid users will also henceforth pay more.

The base plan of 40GB data with rollover and additional benefits like unlimited calling and 100 SMS a day has risen from ₹399 to ₹449.

The next tier, providing 75GB of data along with similar benefits and additional subscriptions to streaming services, will now cost ₹549, up from ₹499.

Family plans

Family plans have shot up too. The plan for two connections, previously priced at ₹599, will now be available at ₹699, offering 105GB of data with rollover, unlimited calling and 100 SMS per day.

The highest family plan, supporting four connections with 190GB of data, has increased from ₹999 to ₹1,199.

ARPU level

Bharti Airtel has emphasised that the mobile Average Revenue per User (ARPU) needs to exceed ₹300 to sustain a financially healthy business model for Indian telecom companies.

This ARPU level is crucial for substantial investments in network technology and spectrum.

Airtel says it has implemented a modest price increase of less than 70 paise a day on entry-level plans to minimise the impact on budget-conscious consumers.