Bharti Airtel hikes prepaid, postpaid tariffs day after Reliance Jio hikes rates; check details

A day after Reliance Jio raised the tariff of its postpaid and prepaid plans by 12-27%, its nearest competitor Bharti Airtel has followed suit, by announcing a hike of 10%-21%.

The revision was required as the "average revenue per user (ARPU) needs to be upwards of ₹300 to enable a financially healthy business model for telcos in India", Airtel said in a release.

The entry level prepaid plan offering 2GB data with unlimited voice calls will be charged at ₹199 for 28 days, instead of ₹179 at present, as per the rate card shared by the company. "The revised rates will be brought into effect from July 3," it noted.

"We have ensured that there is a very modest price increase (less than 70p per day) on the entry level plans, in order to eliminate any burden on budget challenged consumers," Airtel added.

A look at Bharti Airtel's revised rate card:

For postpaid, the entry-level plan of ₹399 will now be charged at ₹499 per month; the ₹499 plan will be charged at ₹549; ₹599 plan has been raised to ₹699, and the ₹999 plan will now be charged at ₹1,199.

The rate hike was announced before the start of market hours. The company's stock was trading at ₹1,472.55 apiece on the NSE at 10:05 am, down 0.29% as against the previous day's close.