Airtel launches 3 new cheapest Voice-Only prepaid plans: Starting from ₹ 185, fun for those who want only calling and SMS without data

Telecom giant Bharti Airtel has given a big relief to crores of consumers troubled by the rising prices of mobile recharge and unwanted data pack charges across the country. Often, consumers who use a basic keypad (feature phone) or want to keep only the secondary SIM active in their smartphone had to bear the burden of expensive daily data packs even without using the internet. In compliance with the strict guidelines and timelines of TRAI, Airtel has become the first telecom operator in the country to roll out three affordable prepaid special tariff vouchers (STVs) offering purely voice calling and SMS without any data bundle. The company has announced the prices of these new plans ₹185, ₹203 and ₹206 Have decided.

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had directed all operators (Airtel, Jio, Vi and BSNL) to mandatorily offer special tariff vouchers to consumers, which are based only on voice and SMS and do not add unnecessary data costs. Along with this, TRAI had also asked the companies to provide options with validity of full 30 days and calendar months in addition to 28 days. Even before the regulator’s deadline of October 21, Airtel has made these three affordable plans live on its official app (Airtel Thanks) and website.

The main features available in all three plans offered by the company are the same, but there is a slight difference in their price and validity so that the user can choose as per his need:

1. Airtel’s ₹185 prepaid plan

This is the most affordable and basic pack in this series. In this, the customer gets full validity of 28 days. During this period, there is unlimited local, STD and national roaming calling facility on any network across the country. Apart from this, a total of 300 SMS are given for important banking alerts or general messaging. However, no mobile data is available in it.

2. Airtel’s ₹203 prepaid plan

If you want a full 30 day cycle instead of 28 days, this pack is ideal. By spending just ₹18 extra compared to the ₹185 plan, you get 2 days additional validity i.e. a total of 30 days of service. It also offers unlimited voice calling without any conditions and 300 free SMS for the entire cycle.

3. Airtel’s ₹206 prepaid plan

This plan works on the principle of ‘Calendar Month Validity’. This means that if you recharge on the 19th of a month, then the next recharge will have to be done exactly on the 19th of the next month, whether that month is of 30 days or 31 days. This also includes the facility of 300 SMS, unlimited all-India calling and free Hello Tune.

Apart from calling and messaging, Airtel has given an additional facility to its customers. With all three new plans, customers are being given the facility of ‘Free Hello Tunes’, under which users can set and change their favorite caller tune every 30 days without any extra charge through Wynk Music or Airtel Thanks app.

This new offering will become a major means of saving money for three special categories of consumers in the telecom market:

• Senior citizens and parents: For the elderly people at home who do not use the internet and keep their phones only for talking to relatives, the compulsion of getting a data pack worth ₹ 300-₹ 350 every month is over.

• Feature Phone (Keypad Mobile) Users: Even today, there are more than 25 crore feature phone holders in India, who do not need 4G or 5G data. This pack of ₹ 185 will prove to be most suitable for them.

• Users with active secondary SIM: Those who run two SIM cards and want to keep the second SIM active only for Bank OTP and incoming/outgoing calls can directly save thousands of rupees over a year with these affordable plans.