Airtel Discontinues INR 299, INR 649, INR 799 Prepaid Plans, Hikes INR 859 Pack to INR 899
Airtel has quietly discontinued several of its most popular prepaid plans, leaving many users confused and scrambling for alternatives. Among the plans removed are the INR 299, INR 319, INR 649, and INR 799 packs, all of which were widely used by budget-conscious subscribers.
Airtel has quietly discontinued several of its most popular prepaid plans, leaving many users confused and scrambling for alternatives. Among the plans removed are the INR 299, INR 319, INR 649, and INR 799 packs, all of which were widely used by budget-conscious subscribers. The INR 299 plan, in particular, was Airtel's cheapest offering, providing 1GB data per day, unlimited calling, 100 SMS daily, Hello Tunes benefits, and 28 days of validity. The other discontinued plans offered around 1.5GB data per day with varying validity periods, making them popular choices among regular users.
INR 579 And INR 619 Plans Also Pulled From Select Circles
Apart from the four major plans, Airtel has also removed the INR 579 and INR 619 prepaid plans from specific circles, reported Moneycontrol. As of now, these plans have been pulled from the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand circles, though they continue to remain available in other regions across the country. Airtel Becomes World’s 2nd Largest Telecom Operator As Global User Base Hits 650 Million.
INR 859 Plan Price Hiked To INR 899
In addition to removing plans, Airtel has also increased the price of its INR 859 prepaid plan to INR 899, without adding any extra benefits for subscribers. These changes come at a time when Airtel has been making a series of aggressive shifts to its prepaid portfolio, including the introduction of a Premium tier for select users. Airtel AI-Powered Fraud Alert Protection System Launched To Combat Spam and OTP Banking Scams.
Signal Towards Costlier 5G Future?
The removal and repricing of these 4G-centric plans comes at a time when 5G adoption is steadily increasing across India. Industry observers see this as a possible signal of what lies ahead, with 5G plans likely to be priced significantly higher compared to current tariffs. Airtel is unlikely to be the only player making such moves, as rivals Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea are expected to follow a similar trajectory in the coming months.
TRAI's Stand On 4G And 5G Coexistence
Telecom regulatory authorities have already advised service providers to ensure that both 4G and 5G plans coexist, giving users the choice to pick between the two based on their needs. However, it remains to be seen how telecom companies will manage premium network slicing and whether they will be able to maintain consistent speeds on their 4G plans going forward.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also warned that telecom firms failing to provide consistent service quality to customers will face heavy penalties, adding pressure on companies like Airtel to balance pricing changes with service reliability.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 12, 2026 04:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).