Bharti Airtel has brought back its ₹299 prepaid recharge plan, about three months after withdrawing it in August. The change comes as telecom operators weigh pricing decisions against competition and customer response.
According to Report by CNBC TV18, rival operators did not follow Airtel’s earlier tariff action, making it difficult for the company to sustain the change on its own.
The development highlights the challenge of raising or adjusting prices in a market where customers can compare offers across multiple providers.
Why the plan’s return matters
Telecom companies regularly review prepaid plans as they manage network investment, customer retention and average revenue per user. A price change can improve revenue per customer, but it may also influence how subscribers choose between operators.
When one company changes a plan and competitors leave their offers unchanged, the move can affect customer additions and churn. Citi, the brokerage quoted by CNBC-TV18, said the plan’s return points to the difficulty of maintaining pricing discipline without broader participation across the industry.
Airtel added about 7.16 lakh net subscribers in the September quarter, down from 32.65 lakh in the previous quarter, the report said. Subscriber trends can be affected by multiple factors, so the quarterly figures alone do not establish why customers joined or left.
Quarterly figures provide context
Airtel reported consolidated revenue of ₹60,877.5 crore for the September quarter, up 4% from the previous quarter. Its consolidated EBITDA margin rose to 57.4%, while its India mobile revenue increased 3.4% quarter-on-quarter.
Average revenue per user, or ARPU, rose to ₹271 from ₹264 in the previous quarter. ARPU is widely tracked because it indicates the average revenue generated per subscriber, though it does not capture differences in customer usage or plan mix.
The company also recorded a higher monthly subscriber churn rate in the quarter, at 2.9%, according to CNBC-TV18. Those results give context to the competitive environment in which the ₹299 plan has returned.
What customers should check
The plan’s reinstatement is a pricing update, not a guarantee that every customer will see the same benefits. Recharge terms, validity, data allowances and availability can vary, so customers should check Airtel’s current official plan details before recharging.
The broader question is whether telecom operators will continue to raise prices independently or wait for competitors to make similar moves. Operators need revenue to support network improvements, but customers remain sensitive to the total cost of keeping a number active.
For Airtel, restoring the plan may help it compete for prepaid users while it continues to focus on higher-value subscribers. The impact will become clearer through future subscriber and revenue results.