Airtel launches ‘unlimited’ broadband plans starting at Rs 499, bundles OTT apps, STB

NE BUSINESS BUREAU

NEW DELHI, SEPT 6

Telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Sunday launched ”unlimited” category broadband plans starting at Rs 499 per month which will come bundled with a subscription to video entertainment apps and high definition set-top box (STB) against a refundable deposit, a company release said.

Airtel has enhanced high-speed data usage limit (fair usage policy) by up to 23 times in the revised plans to 3,500 gigabytes.

The move from Airtel comes within a week of its competitor Reliance Jio revising broadband plans with unlimited data usage and bundling subscription fee of video entertainment apps in them.

The new and revised plans will be rolled out September 7 onwards across 125 cities where the company has operations, and in new cities where it will gradually expand its footprint, Airtel said in a statement.

The new plans will comprise an entry-level plan of Rs 499 with a promised speed of 40 megabits per second and revised Rs 799, Rs 999, and Rs 1,499 plans with a data limit of up to 3,500 GB at promised speed in those plans, it said.

“All Airtel Xstream Fiber plans now include the Airtel Xstream Box worth Rs 3,999 that makes any TV a smart TV. Customers get access to all live TV channels plus the best of video streaming apps effectively eliminating the need for multiple entertainment devices at home,” the statement said.

All new plans will now come bundled with unlimited phone calls, the option of Airtel Xstream 4K TV box against a refundable security deposit of Rs 1,500, Airtel Xstream apps that offer aggregated content from seven over-the-top entertainment apps, and five studios.

Airtel said subscribers will be able to access 550 TV channels, over 10,000 movies and shows on Airtel Xstream Apps, Google Playstore apps along with online gaming through its Android enabled set-top box.

The plans priced between Rs 999 to 3,999 will come bundled with subscription fees of Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Video, and Zee5 as well.

“Entertainment is the space where we see an exciting opportunity. Airtel Xstream brings the best of entertainment along with unlimited high-speed broadband connectivity into a single solution.

“To drive the penetration of this exciting innovation, we are today making our plans even more accessible for customers,” Bharti Airtel, Director-Homes, Sunil Taldar said in the statement.

Earlier, Airtel was offering 100 Mbps speed with 150 GB FUP (fair usage policy) limit in Rs 799 plan, 200 Mbps speed with 300 GB FUP in Rs 999 plan, 300 Mbps speed with 500 GB FUP in Rs 1,499 plan, and 1 Gbps speed with no data cap in Rs 3,999 plan.

The New Airtel Xstream Bundle