Hyderabad: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) mandated telecom companies to offer recharge plans exclusively for voice calls and messages without any compulsion to buy internet data. On Wednesday morning, ETV Bharat spotted two prepaid plans on Bharti Airtel's website offering only voice and SMS benefits without any data, suggesting it revised two of its existing prepaid plan offerings to comply with the new guidelines.
The listing suggested that Airtel simply removed data benefits from plans worth Rs 509 and Rs 1,999 to make them voice and SMS-only packs. Since the updated plans offered fewer benefits with the same cost as before, this move was interpreted as a kind of tariff hike. However, Airtel reached out to ETV Bharat to clarify that it was a technical glitch and it has not made any changes to the packs.
Airtel plans worth Rs 509 and Rs 1,999 have been removed from the official website. The company did not clarify whether these packs will be added back after a supposed correction or if it plans to list the updated packs at a later date.
"It was a technical glitch due to which the plans were visible on the website. The same has been taken down from the website now," Airtel said in a statement.
Airtel's Rs 509 prepaid plan
Airtel's Rs 509 prepaid plan offered unlimited voice calls and 900 SMS for a validity period of 84 days. The updated plan on the website did not come with any data benefit, appearing to fulfil TRAI's requirement of companies serving voice and SMS-only packs for people who do not need data benefits. Earlier, this pack used to offer 6GB of data.
Apart from unlimited voice calls and 900 SMS for 84 days, the Rs 509 plan also listed additional Airtel rewards, including free content streaming on the Airtel Xstream app, Apollo 24/7 circle membership, and free access to Hello Tunes. This plan has been removed from the website.
Airtel's Rs 1,999 prepaid plan
Airtel's website also showcased a revised long-validity plan to offer only voice and SMS benefits. The company's Rs 1,999 plan offered unlimited voice calls and 3,600 SMS for a validity of 365 days. This pack also removed data benefits even though it used to offer 24GB of data previously. Other benefits attached to this plan included free access to the Airtel Xstream app, Hello Tunes, and Apollo 24/7 circle membership. This plan has also been removed from the website.
TRAI's voice and SMS-only plan guideline
TRAI says that 150 million Indians still use feature phones and do not always need internet packs, emphasising the need for non-data-specific recharge plans. Consultations revealed that many users, such as senior citizens, families with home broadband, and non-tech-savvy individuals, prefer voice and SMS without bundled data. As a result, TRAI mandated voice and SMS-only plans to cater to these preferences.
[Note: This copy has been updated with Airtel's statement and necessary changes to reflect the new information in a consistent manner]
