Airtel users can now carry forward their unused data to next billing cycle

The company looks to start VoLTE services across the country later this year

The country's top mobile operator, Bharti Airtel, will be investing Rs 2,000 crore over three years in the launch of various digital offerings even as the telco gears up to launch Voice over LTE (VoLTE) across the country by the end of this year.

Airtel has announced a few initiatives like allowing postpaid customers to carry forward their unused data to the next billing cycle, pooling of postpaid plan within a family and providing protection for smartphones against damage.

Gopal Vittal, managing director and chief executive, India and South Asia, Bharti Airtel, said VoLTE trials are on in five cities and the company will be "able to take VoLTE" everywhere in the country by the end of this year.

The company, which is scrambling ever since Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio entered telecom last year, is boosting its offerings to retain customers and improve experience.

As part of Project Next, Airtel will improve its in-store experience by redesigning over 2,500 stores across the country. The company's two next-gen stores are already live in Gurugram.   

"This is the first step towards transforming Airtel into a digital services provider. Over the next three years, we are planning to invest Rs 2,000 crore in Project Next to upgrade our touch points and services," Vittal said.

The company also unveiled a new version of MyAirtel app, allowing customers to change plans, get real-time notifications, and others. 

Vittal said the company will make MyAirtel App so seamless that customers wouldn't have to ring up their call centre. For postpaid customers, Airtel has launched a slew of services. 

In an industry first, starting August, all Airtel postpaid customers will now be able to carry forward their unused monthly data quota to the next billing cycle. Customers can track their usage and data carried forward on MyAirtel App. The postpaid customers can also create customised solutions for the family by adding multiple postpaid connections to their account, and save up to 20 per cent. Also, they can pool and share their data benefits across all connections. The telco also introduced Airtel Secure — a digital smartphone protection suite, allowing customers to protect their smartphones from damage.