Bharti Airtel shares gained over 2% in morning trade on Wednesday after the telecom giant joined rival Reliance Jio in withdrawing its entry-level prepaid recharge plan that offered 1 GB of daily data for ₹249.
The change, effective immediately, pushes the minimum entry point for mobile data plans to 1.5 GB per day packs, which are priced higher. This move is expected to increase average revenue per user (ARPU) for telecom operators while raising costs for consumers.
Reliance Jio was the first to discontinue its 1 GB per day plan, replacing it with a 1.5 GB per day plan at ₹299, reflecting a nearly 17% hike. Bharti Airtel has now mirrored the strategy by introducing a 1.5 GB per day plan at ₹319.
In the meantime, global brokerage Jefferies noted that the tariff tweaks by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel are likely to drive higher data usage and could push ARPU growth by 4–8%, which it views as a positive development for the telecom sector.
Bharti Airtel shares traded on a strong note today, opening at ₹1,937.00 compared to the previous close of ₹1,909.70. The stock touched an intraday low of ₹1,926.60 and a high of ₹1,952.00 during the session. On a 52-week basis, Airtel has moved between ₹1,446.50 and ₹2,045.80.
