Airtel withdrew four prepaid plans in ARPU push as quarterly profit jumped 37%

In August 2026, Bharti Airtel quietly withdrew four prepaid plans — priced at Rs 299, Rs 579, Rs 619 and Rs 649 — leaving subscribers of the popular Rs 299 pack to opt for the Rs 349 plan, an effective increase of around 16%, while the entry-level Rs 199 and Rs 219 plans stayed unchanged.

Airtel did not officially comment on the move; people aware of the development said the company was looking to drive sustained growth in average revenue per user (ARPU). Users on the Rs 299 plan often exhausted their data allowance and ended up buying top-ups or recharging again; the Rs 349 plan offers unlimited 5G data.

The logic had been telegraphed. On the earnings call the week before, executive vice chairman Gopal Vittal said the company's reference to tariff repair was essentially about the structure of mobile plans: '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.' He argued every market offers small, medium, large and extra-large categories, making a 'sensible price architecture' necessary in mobile services.

The numbers behind the push: Airtel India's ARPU rose 5.6% to Rs 264 in the June 2026 quarter from Rs 250 a year earlier — the highest among major telecom operators. Bharti Airtel's profit after tax rose 37.3% to Rs 8,167 crore in the quarter, and revenue from operations rose 18.3% to Rs 58,539 crore. Experts said the move could pave the way for other telecom operators to follow suit as the industry seeks to improve monetisation.

ARPU up 5.6% YoY to Rs 264 — highest among major Indian operators; June-quarter PAT +37.3% to Rs 8,167 crore; revenue +18.3% to Rs 58,539 crore.

The lever was plan structure, not a headline tariff hike: withdrawing underpriced unlimited plans pushes subscribers up the ladder at recharge time.

Rs 299 users routinely exhausted their allowance and bought top-ups — a sign the price point was underpricing its own demand.

Vittal framed it as architecture: every market needs small-to-extra-large tiers, and cheap unlimited data breaks the ladder by capping ARPU.

Experts read it as an industry signal: if Airtel's reshuffle sticks, other operators are expected to follow suit on monetisation.

Cheap unlimited plans buy volume but cap revenue per user; pruning the floor of the price ladder raises monetisation without a headline tariff hike.

The reshuffle left the entry-level Rs 199 and Rs 219 plans untouched. As of the August 2026 report, Airtel India's ARPU of Rs 264 was the highest among major Indian telecom operators, quarterly profit had jumped 37.3% to Rs 8,167 crore, and analysts expected rival operators to follow the reshuffle as the industry pursued better monetisation.