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Airtel Introduces New Voice and SMS-Only Prepaid Plans After TRAI Mandate

Bharti Airtel is introducing specialised prepaid recharge plans, including only voice and SMS services. The move comes after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued a mandate last month to telecommunication operators in India to offer standalone Special Tariff Vouchers (STVs) specifically for voice and SMS services. These new plans will not include bundled data and are aimed at consumers who do not have Internet connectivity requirements, such as feature phone users or those who use a secondary SIM card in dual SIM-enabled smartphones. The company is reportedly restructuring two existing plans to fit the guidelines issued by TRAI.

Airtel Announces New Prepaid Recharge Plans

Airtel's decision makes it the first in the country to introduce voice and SMS-only recharge plans for prepaid users. The telecom operator has not added the new plans to its website yet, but it is expected to be rolled out shortly. While the company has not detailed the new prepaid plans, several reports have highlighted what users can expect.

According to a CNBC report, one of the prepaid recharge plans Airtel is planning to restructure is the Rs. 509 voucher. It is said to offer unlimited voice calls and 900 free SMS with a validity of 84 days. The earlier version of the plan also offered 6GB of data, which is said to now be removed. For long-term validity, the telecom operator is reportedly revamping the Rs. 1,999 plan. It is said to offer unlimited voice calls and a total of 3,600 free SMS for a period of 365 days.

Once the SMS limit is crossed, Airtel will reportedly charge users Re. 1 per local message and Rs. 1.5 per STD message. Some reports have also claimed that these prepaid recharge plans might come with additional benefits such as Apollo 24/7 Circle membership and free Hello Tunes.

Whether Airtel will keep the prices of the plans as they were with bundled data or will make changes to them is currently unclear. Notably, at the time of writing, these plans were not visible on either the Airtel website or the Airtel Thanks app.

Last month, TRAI issued the twelfth amendment to the Telecom Consumers Protection Regulations, which also included this mandate. The announcement came after the telecom agency held an open-house discussion with stakeholders in October and addressed issues around tariff availability, validity of vouchers, and colour coding of vouchers.



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