Rivaling Jio, Airtel is launching feature-rich 'Black' postpaid plan
What's the story
In a bid to take on Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel is working to launch a premium, feature-rich postpaid plan for its high-spending customers, according to The Economic Times. Dubbed as Airtel Black, the new value-rich postpaid plan will be a part of the 'AirtelThanks' loyalty program and is aimed at helping the company increase its average revenue per user. Here's all about it.
Information
What are the features of Airtel Black?
According to the report, Airtel Black plans will be available at a starting price of Rs. 999. Under the plans, the telco will offer benefits such as "lounge access, better content, discounts on consumer brands, international roaming, health insurance, and bundled apps and streaming services."
Purpose
The new plan looks to attract customers on lower-value plans
Airtel's premium, feature-rich 'Black' plans are aimed at spurring the postpaid business and attracting customers on lower-value plans to upgrade to Black. The telco looks to drive Airtel Gold postpaid customers on plans below Rs. 499 and Airtel Platinum users on Rs. 499 and above plans to join Black plans. This will help the company sustain its average revenue per user (ARPU) momentum.
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Currently, Airtel has the highest ARPU in India
Interestingly, Airtel, with 281.13 million subscribers, has the highest ARPU of Rs. 129. Closing in on the second spot is Reliance Jio which has an ARPU of Rs. 122 while Vodafone Idea takes the third spot with Rs. 108.
Competition
Separately, Reliance Jio is also working to improve its ARPU
With a subscriber base of 331.3 million, Reliance Jio recently beat Vodafone Idea to become the largest telecom operator in India. Now, the company is targeting customers on low-value plans to reach the 500 million mark. Further, to improve its user revenue, Jio has announced a Postpaid Plus program that will offer premium services and bundled benefits to customers on higher-priced plans.