- Sunil Mittal-led telco Airtel has announced a price hike in seven regions.
- The company has hiked the price of its minimum recharge plan from ₹99 to ₹155.
- The company had last announced a price hike in November 2021, increasing the price of plans by up to 25%
Sunil Mittal-led telecom operator Airtel has announced a price hike, increasing the cost of its minimum recharge plan by nearly 57%, a huge increase in a single go. The company has increased the price of its minimum recharge plan from ₹99 to ₹155, a hike of ₹56.
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Airtel had announced the price hike in Odisha and Haryana in November 2022 and has now announced a wider rollout, covering seven regions, including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Northeast, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh-West.
The telco had earlier announced a price hike in November 2021, increasing the price of the base plan from ₹79 to ₹99. During this hike, prices of its popular plans were hiked by up to 25%.
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“In line with our focus on providing better customer experience, we have discontinued the metered tariff and introduced an entry level plan ₹155 with unlimited voice, 1GB of data and 300 SMS. Customers can now use this plan with no constraints. We believe this plan will provide greater flexibility, convenience and superior value,” an Airtel spokesperson said in a statement to Business Insider India.
Airtel’s new ₹155 plan – costs more and offers less validity
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The Airtel’s ₹155 plan is not only costlier, it also offers reduced validity. The ₹155 plan offers 1GB data, unlimited local and STD calls and 300 SMS with a validity of 24 days.
The telco has also discontinued its ₹129 plan that offered 1GB data, unlimited calling and 300 SMS with a validity of 28 days. This has been replaced with the ₹179 plan that offers 2GB data, unlimited calling and 300 SMS with a validity of 28 days.
Airtel vs Jio vs Vi – base plan compared
| Telcom operator | Price | Validity | Data | Calling | SMS |
| Airtel | ₹155 | 24 days | 1GB | Unlimited | 300 |
| Reliance Jio | ₹155 | 28 days | 2GB | Unlimited | 300 |
| Vi | ₹155 | 24 days | 1GB | Unlimited | 300 |
While all three telcos now offer the base plan at the same tariff, Mukesh Ambani-led Jio offers 4 days more validity compared to Airtel and Vi and also offers 1GB additional data.
