Airtel Almost Doubles Minimum Monthly Recharge For Prepaid Users, Check New Price Here
Just ahead of New Year 2020, telecom operator Airtel Ltd has increased its minimum monthly recharge for prepaid users to Rs 45 per month with immediate effect from Sunday, December 29. Earlier the minimum monthly recharge was Rs 23. Now, the prepaid users of Airtel have to pay Rs 22 extra to stay on its network.
New Delhi, December 29: Just ahead of New Year 2020, telecom operator Airtel Ltd has increased its minimum monthly recharge for prepaid users to Rs 45 per month with immediate effect from Sunday, December 29. Before, the minimum monthly recharge was Rs 23. Now, the prepaid users of Airtel have to pay Rs 22 extra to stay on its network. Earlier, Vodafone Idea and Bharati Airtel had raised tariffs by as much as 40 percent. Sunil Mittal of Bharti Airtel Rings Alarm Bell: 'Telecom Industry Passing Through Its Worst Phase in 25 Years, Needs Immediate Government Help'.
In a public notice on Sunday, Airtel said, "It will be mandatory to recharge with a voucher of ₹45 or above every 28 days to avail services. In case of non-recharge with a voucher of ₹45 or above at the end of the tariff validity period, Airtel reserves the right to provide the plan benefits in a curtailed manner at its own discretion during the grace period of 15 days. In case of non-recharge of a voucher with ₹45 or above, all services will be suspended post the grace period."
The two moves came as a big boost to old operators like Airtel and Vodafone Idea that are staring at a liability of thousands of crores in unpaid past statutory dues following a Supreme Court ruling. Through their association, the operators had been pitching to policy makers for fixing a floor rate for calls and data. The telecom call and data rates are at present under forbearance or not regulated.
But, Trai has now released a consultation paper to fix minimum or floor rates for mobile phone calls and data — a move that will effectively end the regime of free calling and dirt cheap data.
The outcome is likely to lead to further hike in mobile call and data cost as the industry wants average revenue per user to reach Rs 300 per month from about Rs 125 at present over a period of two years — better revenue realisation per user will offer a much-needed breather to the stressed telecom industry where debt levels have soared to Rs 7.8 lakh crore.
(With PTI Inputs)
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 29, 2019 09:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).