Bharti Airtel is reintroducing its ₹299 prepaid plan after reporting slower customer additions in the September quarter. The 28-day offer provides 1 GB of daily data and was previously withdrawn in August. Airtel links the delay in additions to churn and weaker smartphone upgrades, and says it is looking to sustain growth through postpaid upgrades, international roaming and prepaid top-ups.
On earnings calls, Airtel’s executives frame the prepaid changes as an experiment rather than a full solution. Shashwat Sharma says the broader challenge is structural: the telecom sector’s data pricing does not properly monetise consumption, because data is effectively “given away” in many plans. He also notes that customers are shifting from older networks to 4G and 5G devices, supported in part by the expanding refurbished smartphone market.
Outlets also report handset and customer trends. Airtel’s India mobile ARPU rises to ₹271 (up from ₹264) in the quarter, while net customer additions fall to 7.16 lakh from 33 lakh previously, and churn increases slightly to 2.9%. Coverage varies most on how prominently it highlights the plan’s return versus Airtel’s wider push for a sector-wide pricing reset.
