Airtel shares down over 3% on slashing Internet charges

Shares of Bharti Airtel fell by over three per cent today after the telecom major sharply slashed its Internet data charges under a special scheme.

The stock went down by 2.82 per cent to end at Rs 332.10 on BSE. During the day, it lost 3.62 per cent to Rs 329.35.

At NSE, shares of the company fell by 3.13 per cent to close at Rs 331.85.

Led by the decline in the scrip, the company's market valuation fell by Rs 3,857.34 crore to Rs 1,32,753.66 crore.

The stock was the worst performer among the Sensex and Nifty components.

Facing stiff competition from Reliance Jio in Internet data space, telecom major Bharti Airtel has sharply slashed its charges under a special scheme.

Under the 'mega saver pack', Airtel customers will have to recharge with Rs 1,498 against which they will get 1GB of 4G or 3G mobile Internet usage valid for 28 days, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

Post exhaustion of 1GB data limit, the customers can get 1GB 4G or 3G recharges for just Rs 51 over a period of 12 months and there is no limit on the number of recharges during the period.

At present, Airtel offers 1GB of 3G or 4G mobile Internet for Rs 259 valid for 28 days.