TRAI suspends Premium plans of Bharti Airtel Ltd’s & Vodafone Idea Ltd

TRAI suspends Premium plans of Bharti Airtel Ltd’s & Vodafone Idea Ltd. Telecom Regulatory Authority has restricted the Platinum plans of Bharti Airtel Ltd. And the RedX premium plans of Vodafone Idea Ltd.

TRAI suspends Premium plans of Bharti Airtel Ltd’s & Vodafone Idea Ltd. Telecom Regulatory Authority has restricted the Platinum plans of Bharti Airtel Ltd. And the RedX premium plans of Vodafone Idea Ltd. that provide higher data rates. And preferential coverage to high-paying post-paid subscribers. Alleging these schemes in breach of regulations. And that may affect the quality of coverage for those outside the contracts.

Trai suspends premium plans. Therefore, a directive has been decried by a senior Vodafone Idea executive and said. “It’s shocking to receive a letter during the weekend requesting. We stop our RedX plan without having a chance to react to important issues. Such as tariffs, particularly as there is no violation of a tariff regulation on this program.”

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BUt in November 2019, Vodafone Idea launched the RedX package for postpaid subscribers. Which was with an estimated price of 9999. Therefore, providing rates and exclusive benefits up to 50 percent higher. The plan ‘s price was hiked by a hundred in May.

Both deals are seen as attempts to expand the pool of higher-paying customers. And push up average revenue per device (ARPU), according to experts.

TRAI Publicly Bans Premium Plans

“This (the plans) violates business efficiency expectations. It shortchanges current customers and it’s also not obvious. Also what is being sold to new consumers as the criteria are not quantifiable”. A Trai official informed to Mint.

Platinum customers, who will also receive discounted rates at contact centers. And shopping sites, were given higher internet speeds on priority. VIL unveiled the RedX program in November, promising rates and special facilities up to 50 per cent higher. These deals are seen as attempts to increase the pool of higher-paid consumers and raise overall per-user sales.

A spokesperson for Bharti Airtel did not comment on the Trai change but said. “We continue to keep improving the bar in terms of support. And responsiveness for our postpaid customers. This is a constant effort at our end.

However, on 6 July, Bharti Airtel Ltd revealed quicker data rates. Also all of its platinum subscribers.Which were postpaid consumers paying as much as 4499 or more. The telecom major led by Sunil Mittal had claimed it has implemented advanced technology. For its ‘Priority 4 G Network’ which will provide importance to its premium customers on the network.

“The good news is that we’ve introduced many new features. To provide an seamless work from home experience. For those of you who are a member of Airtel Platinum. You will have connections to the 4 G Preferential Network. Which converts into faster download rates”. Said  Gopal Vittal, Chief Executive Officer ( CEO) of Bharti Airtel in a customer interactions.