Airtel rolls out family plan starting Rs 599 to increase postpaid user base

Bharti Airtel has rolled out various family plans offering monthly data in the range of 105-320 GB as it looks to attract prepaid users to switch to postpaid connections.

The new family plans uploaded on the company website are in the range of Rs 599 to Rs 1,499 per month, while Black family plans, that bundles DTH and fixed broadband service, are in the range of Rs 799 to Rs 2,299 per month.

A company official told PTI that the new plans are aimed at attracting prepaid customers to switch to postpaid whereby family members will be able to optimally use the data limit, calls, SMS etc bundled in a plan.

Out of the total mobile subscriber base of 332 million, the company had 5.4 per cent postpaid users on its network in the December 2022 quarter.

The postpaid customer base of Bharti Airtel grew by about 8 per cent on a year-on-year basis to 18.9 million as of December 31, 2022.

These new family plans allow bundling 2-5 mobile phone connections under one plan.

Airtel has bundled Amazon Prime subscription for six months and Disney+Hotstar for 1 year while it is offering Netflix in the higher price plans.

"Generally prepaid users within the family are unable to consume the entire data. The bundling of OTT services will help them optimise their expenses," the official said.

In the Black Family Plans, Airtel has bundled DTH service in the entry-level plan starting at Rs 799 per month, broadband connection with 2 mobile postpaid connections for Rs 998 and under the Rs 2,299 plan, the company has bundled 4 postpaid connections with DTH and broadband service.

The official said while the plans will make efficient use of the services, the company expects to gain in terms of average revenue per user (ARPU) from family plan subscribers.

Bharti Airtel ARPU, a key growth matrix, was at Rs 193 in December 2022 quarter.