Bharti Airtel discontinues select prepaid plans, Vodafone Idea may follow suit

Bharti Airtel has discontinued all prepaid plans offering 1.5GB 4G data per day with unlimited calling benefit, and is now offering subscribers pricier options to choose from, as India’s second-largest telco looks to increase its average revenue per user (ARPU).

Analysts said the move is expected to deliver a modest ₹4-6 ARPU uptick in FY27 for Airtel, adding that rival Vodafone Idea (Vi) may also follow suit.

Airtel has withdrawn its only remaining 1GB/day plan of ₹299 (28-day validity); four of its 1.5GB/day plans, including ₹319 plan (30-day), ₹579 (56-day), ₹619 (69-day) and ₹799 (77-day) plan; and discontinued 2GB/day plan of ₹649 (56-day), according to the latest listing on the telco’s website.

Its subscribers on the ₹299 plan will now have to recharge with the ₹349 plan, reflecting a nearly 16% increase, if they wish to use more data per day. The discontinued plan offered 1.5GB data/day, accounting for 25% of Airtel’s mobile revenue, according to IIFL Capital.

By contrast, the ₹349 plan offers 2GB 4G data per day and unlimited 5G for 28 days.

The operator also removed its ₹799 prepaid plan some months ago.

The ₹199 entry-level plan remains unchanged, offering 2GB of data for 28 days. The next option, the ₹219 plan, offers 3GB of data for 28 days.

Analysts said that changes in the 1.5GB/day and 2GB/day plans will push subscribers towards either expensive plans that offer lower validity or towards higher data and longer validity plans.

“This, in our view, is a focused attempt by Bharti Airtel toward higher monetisation while capitalising on customer preferences for higher data plans,” said Morgan Stanley in a research note, seen by ETTelecom.

According to Morgan Stanley estimates, if 20-30% of Airtel India’s mobile wireless subscribers were on plans below ₹349 and are now being nudged to upgrade to pricier plans, it could increase its ARPU by ₹8-12 on a gross basis at the company level.

IIFL Capital, in a research note seen by ETTelecom, said that Airtel’s decision advances the next round of tariff hike – expected in December 2026 – on select plans. “For now, we are not assuming that this tariff tweak is over and above the December 2026 expected tariff hike,” it added.

IIFL said that the incremental benefit from the current move will thus be limited to four months of FY27, implying a potential fiscal ARPU uptick of ₹4 for Airtel.

“JM Financial said, “…we reckon the plan changes could lift Bharti’s overall ARPU by ₹5–6 or ~2%, versus Bharti’s Q1FY27 ARPU of ₹264, assuming ~10% of its overall subs upgrade to new plans that have ~₹50 higher tariffs.”

It added that if Vi follows with a similar tariff rejig, this could increase its ARPU by ₹7-8 or ~4%, versus Q1FY27 ARPU of ₹177.

Airtel seeks tariff structure repair

Bharti Airtel’s top executives last week, during the post-earnings conference call with analysts, said that the telco sees potential for raising tariffs on plans that offer unlimited data at lower price points.

Gopal Vittal, executive vice chairman, Bharti Airtel, said, “Which means that for a very low level of pricing, you get unlimited data, and that means ARPU is capped. That to me is not a healthy way to operate it because if you look at it, and we have talked about this before.”

Vittal had said each market has small, medium, and large-to-extra large offerings and therefore, there is a need for “sensible price architecture” in mobile services.

Airtel India’s average revenue per user (ARPU) increased by 5.6% to ₹264 during Q1FY27, the highest in the industry, compared to ₹250 a year ago.

Shashwat Sharma, MD & CEO, Airtel India, said that the industry’s pricing architecture needs a repair with a data consumption-driven charging mechanism.

“I think the pricing architecture will have to adapt to charging for data consumption becoming the norm if we are to see this kind of long-term sustainability,” Sharma had said. “This is paramount for sustained ARPU growth in the longer term.”

Airtel reported a 37.3% increase in profit after tax to ₹8,167 crore in the June quarter of FY27, driven by strong growth across India and Africa operations. Its revenue from operations during the quarter increased 18.3% to ₹58,539 crore from ₹49,462.6 crore in the June quarter a year ago.