Airtel, one of the leading telecom service providers of India, has escalated the price of its existing plans, and it has been making changes. According to recent reports, Airtel has discontinued its Rs 199 prepaid recharge plan from the popular UPI apps like PhonePe and Paytm. The plan, which was known for its affordability and essential benefits, is no longer visible for recharges on these platforms (by the time of writing).
Only the Rs 219 plan is now available on PhonePe and Paytm
Users attempting to recharge on PhonePe or Paytm are now shown Airtel’s Rs 219 plan as the most affordable option. This plan, like the Rs 199 plan, offers 28 days validity, unlimited calling, and free national roaming, but with 3GB data, which is 1GB more than the earlier plan.
However, it comes at a Rs 20 higher price, pushing users to pay more for similar core benefits.
Still available on Airtel’s own platforms
Fortunately, the Rs 199 recharge plan is still available on the Airtel Thanks app and the official website. Users who want to stick with this economical plan will need to recharge directly through Airtel's platforms.
The company has also listed a Rs 469 voice-only plan tailored for 2G feature phone users. This plan comes with 84 days' validity and offers only calling benefits. It was launched earlier this year following TRAI’s directive for basic voice services.
What does this mean for users?
With this silent move, Airtel looks like they have been nudging the users toward slightly higher-priced plans via third-party apps. While the core benefits remain mostly unchanged, the budget-conscious users need to check all platforms before recharging.
Also, Airtel has incorporated a new feature which will help you fight against International spam calls. These alerts are available in 10 regional languages- Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Punjabi and Urdu.