Bharti Airtel on Tuesday announced another special offer under which it will give free data for 12 months worth up to ₹9,000, to customers who switch to Airtel 4G. But, the benefits are only for those who buy it before February 28.

The company said customers will get free 3 GB data every month till December 31, with select prepaid and postpaid packs. This free data benefit will be over and above the pack/ plan benefits, it said.

According to analysts, Airtel is getting into a war wherein, the offer packs are more than double to average revenue per user (ARPU) currently.

₹345 recharge pack



For instance, it is offering free 3GB data with every ₹345 recharge pack to prepaid customers and under which, customers with any 4G mobile handset who are not on the Airtel network or upgrading to a new 4G device, can enjoy 3GB free data.

The 3GB data benefit can be availed through the MyAirtel app and data benefits on subsequent recharges will be instant. The pack benefits will be valid for 28 days and can be availed for a maximum of 13 recharges till December 31.

That means, the pack will offer free calls — local and STD – to any network in India plus 4GB data (1GB regular pack benefit + 3GB free data).

But, conversion of free usage is a key, as per analysts. “We assume that once RJio converts to a paid service, its data traffic on the network will fall 90 per cent. We estimate its data traffic at 1.5x Airtel’s in the first quarter of the next financial year,” said a recent Morgan Stanely report on Telecom industry outlook for 2017.

It said RJio's tariffs are around 40 per cent lower than the industry currently. It expects RJio to have 30 per cent data revenue market share in 2017-18, leading to pressure on industry revenues and EBITDA for the next 12 months.

Meanwhile, Airtel said the 12-month offer announced on Tuesday is available to any customer with a 4G mobile handset that is currently not on the Airtel network. Any customer, including existing Airtel customers, upgrading to a new 4G handset can also get this offer.

“We are seeing increasing penetration of 4G handsets across the country and believe that this attractive offer will provide an opportunity to more customers to enjoy high speed broadband on their devices with Airtel,” Ajai Puri, Director – Market Operations, Bharti Airtel, said.

Infinity plans



For instance, for the postpaid customers, the ₹549 Infinity plan will now offer unlimited free calling plus 6GB data (3GB regular data + 3GB free data) per month along with other pack benefits to customers under this offer. The ₹799 Infinity plan will offer unlimited free calling plus 8GB data (5GB regular data + 3GB free data) per month along with other pack benefits to customers under this offer.

Postpaid customers can claim the free data through the MyAirtel App. However, the company also mentioned that the pack prices may vary from circle to circle and customers can avail themselves of the offer only within the first 30 days of purchasing or upgrading to a new 4G handset.