Bharti Airtel is offering special prepaid recharge plans, which include only voice and SMS services. The move comes after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) last month issued an order to telecom operators in India to offer standalone special tariff vouchers (STVs) exclusively for voice and SMS services. These new plans will not include bundled data and are meant for consumers who do not require internet connectivity, such as feature phone users or those who use a secondary SIM card in dual SIM-enabled smartphones. The company is reportedly restructuring two existing plans in line with the guidelines issued by TRAI.
Airtel announces new prepaid recharge plans
This decision by Airtel makes it the first in the country to offer only voice and SMS recharge plans for prepaid users. The telecom operator has not yet added the new plans on its website, but it is expected to be launched soon. Although the company has not provided detailed information about the new prepaid plans, several reports have highlighted what users can expect.
According to CNBC reportOne of the prepaid recharge plans that Airtel is planning to restructure is the Rs. 509 voucher. It says that it will provide unlimited voice calls and 900 free SMS with a validity of 84 days. 6GB data was also offered in the earlier version of the plan, which has now been removed. For longer term validity, the telecom operator is reportedly converting the Rs. 1,999 plan. It is said to offer unlimited voice calls and a total of 3,600 free SMS for a period of 365 days.
Once the SMS limit is exceeded, Airtel will reportedly charge users Rs 1. 1 per local message and Rs. 1.5 per STD message. Some reports also claim that these prepaid recharge plans may come with additional benefits like Apollo 24/7 circle subscription and free Hello Tunes.
It is not clear at the moment whether Airtel will keep the prices of bundled data plans the same or change them. Notably, at the time of writing, these plans were not visible on the Airtel website or the Airtel Thanks app.
Last month, TRAI issued the twelfth amendment to the Telecom Consumer Protection Regulations, which included this mandate. The announcement came after the telecom agency held an open-house discussion with stakeholders in October and addressed the issues of tariff availability, validity of vouchers and color coding of vouchers.
