Bharti Airtel withdraws extra data benefit in-app coupons on certain packs to avoid confusion

Airtel has withdrawn certain data benefit coupons it was offering through its app on some of the prepaid plans, a move it said will help "avoid any confusion" among consumers about the offerings and comparisons between various plans.

The telecom operator had announced 20-25 per cent tariff hikes for various prepaid offerings, including tariffed voice plans, unlimited voice bundles and data top-ups, and the new rates came into effect from Friday.

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However, Airtel also continued to offer extra data benefits of additional 500 MB on select packs as a promotional coupon.

"It is an ongoing industry practice to run cash backs or extra data only through telco apps as coupons. However, to avoid any confusion of incorrect comparisons in the mind of our customers, these in-app coupon offers stand withdrawn," an Airtel spokesperson said in response to an email query.

Earlier, while announcing revision in tariffs, Airtel in a statement had said it has always maintained that the mobile Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) needs to be at Rs 200 and ultimately at Rs 300 to provide a reasonable return on capital that allows for a financially healthy business model.

"We also believe that this level of ARPU will enable the substantial investments required in networks and spectrum. Even more important, this will give Airtel the elbow room to roll out 5G in India," Airtel statement had said.

As a first step towards this, the company had said it is taking the lead in "rebalancing" tariffs during November.