Shock to Airtel users, the company secretly discontinued these two cheap plans, now they will have to spend more.

Airtel has once again surprised its customers. The company has quietly removed two prepaid plans priced below ₹200 – ₹121 and ₹181 – from its website and app. Both of these were data-only plans and came with a validity of 30 days. Now after the removal of these plans, users will have to choose higher priced or different options. This clearly shows that Airtel is in a mood to gradually increase its tariffs.

For the last few months, there have been continuous reports that the company is emphasizing on increasing its ARPU (Average Revenue Per User). In such a situation, withdrawal of cheap plans is being considered a part of this strategy.

Besides, this also gives a hint that further increase in tariff may be seen in the coming time.

Which plans have been removed?

The two plans that Airtel has discontinued include:

1. ₹121 data plan – 30 days validity
2. ₹181 data plan – 30 days validity

In these plans only additional data was available, not calls and SMS.

What options do users have now?
After the removal of the plan, now Airtel users will have to depend on other data plans. If we look at the current options of the company…

• ₹100 data plan: 6GB data, 30 days validity, access to 20 OTT apps
• ₹161 data plan: 12GB data, 30 days validity
• ₹195 data plan: 12GB data, 30 days validity + JioHotstar subscription
• ₹361 data plan: 50GB data, 30 days validity

It is clear from this that if users want the earlier data benefits, now they will have to spend more.

Airtel’s performance in subscriber base
Despite preparations to increase tariffs, Airtel’s growth remains strong. According to TRAI’s October 2025 report, the total number of mobile users in India has increased to 118.4 crore. Airtel has added 12.52 lakh new subscribers in October alone. The total subscriber base of the company has increased to 39.36 crore.