Bharti Airtel, VIL shares plunge after Jio unleashes postpaid tariff war

Shares of telecom majors Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea Ltd (VIL) were under pressure on Wednesday after Reliance Jio announced a range of postpaid plans with several benefits, to take on both Airtel and Vodafone Idea in the postpaid segment.

Around 1.50 p.m., shares of Bharti Airtel on the BSE were trading at Rs 433.50, lower by Rs 37.55 or 7.97 per cent from its previous close.

Vodafone Idea shares were trading at Rs 9.32, lower by 93 paise or 9.07 per cent from its previous close.

With its competitive pricing in the prepaid segment, Jio has already eroded the subscriber base of both the incumbent players over the past four years.

The latest offerings under 'JioPostpaid Plus' announced on Tuesday, with free subscription to Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+ Hotstar and family plan for the entire family at Rs 250 per connection along with data rollover up to 500 GB and Wifi-Calling in India and abroad among others, is likely to start a tariff war in the postpaid segment.

The monthly tariff charges offered under 'JioPostpaid Plus' are Rs 399, Rs 599, Rs 799, Rs 999 and Rs 1,499 and all the packs come with individual offers and data limit according to the users' requirement.

--IANS

rrb/sn/bg