Airtel Revises Its Postpaid Plans To Offer More Data; Set To Receive Fresh Investment!
Airtel is set to receive a fresh infusion of cash from Singtel in exchange of new equity shares.
India’s largest telecom operator Airtel has announced that Singapore-based telecom company, Singapore Telecommunications Limited (Singtel), will invest Rs. 2,649 crore ($413 Million) in Bharti Telecom Limited (Bharti Telecom).
Singtel will get 85.45 million new equity shares in the Bharti Telecom at Rs. 310 apiece, and this will raise Singtel’s stake in Bharti Telecom by up to 1.7%. Currently, Bharti Telecom holds around 50.1% of Bharti Airtel, which has stayed a Singtel associate company since 2000.
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Airtel & Singtel: A Reliable Partnership
Singtel has been a leader in communications and ICT solutions group in Asia. It is a long-term associate of Airtel and Bharti Telecom and also the promoter company of Airtel via preferential allotment of shares. Singtel presently holds a 47.17% stake in Bharti Airtel, which will increase to 48.90% after the investment, while Bharti Telecom will still hold the 50.1 percent share.
The telecom sector is going through a tough phase, owing to the price war since the entry of carrier Reliance Jio in 2016. Airtel has said in a statement that the new funds will be used in debt reduction, but the transaction will be subject to shareholders’ approval.
Shortly after the announcement, the shares of Bharti Airtel climbed on the BSE Sensex during the early trading session today, and it rose over 1% on the BSE.
Bharti Airtel remains the largest telecom provider in India with the highest number of subscribers (over 28 crores). The company recently promised a whopping Rs. 25,000 crore investment in capital expenditure this year in association with Singtel.
Singtel has an assembled portfolio of investments and holds stakes in multiple regional mobile firms outside its home market. The overseas businesses account for more than 75% of its primary earnings.
Airtel Postpaid Plans Revised Again
Meanwhile, Airtel has again revised it’s existing postpaid plans under myPlan Infinity range. The war for market share is still on, and to stay ahead in the competition, Airtel is now offering more data and add-on benefits.
All the myPlan Infinity postpaid plans offer unlimited incoming and outgoing roaming calls, 100 SMS per day, a free Amazon Prime Subscription (excludes Rs. 399 plan) and a free add-on connection.
Airtel Rs. 399/- Postpaid Plan
This best-selling myPlan postpaid offers unlimited calls on both local and STD with free incoming calls on national roaming. The Rs. 399/- plan initially offered 10GB of 3G/4G mobile data, but will now offer 20GB of data a month. The unused data can be rolled over to the next month. This plan also comes with a free subscription to Wynk Music.
| Price | Rs. 399/- |
| Old Data Volume | 10GB |
| New Data Volume | 20GB |
| Calls | Unlimited Calls (Local + STD + National Roaming – Incoming Only) |
| Benefits | Free Wynk Music Subscription |
Airtel Rs. 499/- Postpaid Plan
The Rs. 499/- plan offers unlimited local and STD calls, just like the Rs. 399/- plan. Where this plan offered 20GB of 3G/4G mobile data, it will now offer 40GB of data a month. Unused data can be rolled over to the next month. It also provides additional benefits like free Wynk Music & Amazon Prime subscriptions, Live TV, Movies and ‘Handset Damage Protection’ under Airtel Secure scheme.
| Price | Rs. 499/- |
| Old Data Volume | 20GB |
| New Data Volume | 40GB |
| Calls | Unlimited Calls (Local + STD + National Roaming) |
| Benefits | Free Wynk Music Subscription, Free Amazon Prime Subscription, Live TV & Free Handset Damage Protection. |
Airtel Rs. 799/- Postpaid Plan
The Rs. 799/- plan has unlimited local and STD calls, with free incoming and outgoing calls on national roaming. This plan previously offered 40GB of 3G/4G mobile data, but will now offer 60GB of data a month with a data rollover facility. The plan also provides additional benefits like free Wynk Music & Amazon Prime subscriptions, Live TV, Movies and ‘Handset Damage Protection’ under Airtel Secure. The plan comes with a free add-on connection with free unlimited local calls.
| Price | Rs. 799/- |
| Old Data Volume | 40GB |
| New Data Volume | 60GB |
| Calls | Unlimited Calls (Local + STD + National Roaming) |
| Benefits | Free Wynk Music Subscription, Free Amazon Prime Subscription, Live TV, Free Handset Damage Protection & Free Local Calls on Add-On Connection |
Airtel Rs. 1,199/- Postpaid Plan
The last postpaid plan, the Rs. 1,199/- plan offers unlimited local and STD calls with free incoming and outgoing calls on national roaming. Previously, this plan offered 75GB of 3G/4G mobile data, but will now offer 90GB of data along with the data rollover facility. The plan also provides additional benefits like free Wynk Music & Amazon Prime subscriptions, Live TV, Movies and ‘Handset Damage Protection’ under Airtel Secure. Plus, the plan also offers a free add-on connection with free unlimited local calls.
| Price | Rs. 1,199/- |
| Old Data Volume | 75GB |
| New Data Volume | 90GB |
| Calls | Unlimited Calls (Local + STD + National Roaming) |
| Benefits | Free Wynk Music Subscription, Live TV, Free Amazon Prime Subscription, Free Handset Damage Protection & Free Local Calls on Add-On Connection |
Premium Postpaid Plans
The Rs. 1,599/- premium plan under myPlan Infinity now offers 150GB of data per month, while the Rs. 1,999/- plan is now offering 200GB of data a month. Lastly, the Rs. 2,999/- premium postpaid plan offers 300GB of data a month.
The revised Airtel postpaid myPlan Infinity plans are now offering better data benefits than other operators in the postpaid space. But looking at the recent industry trends, soon Vodafone and Idea will modify their postpaid plans to match those from Airtel in order to stay in the competition.
Airtel will have a tough time due to Reliance Jio.