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In a bid to grow its post-paid subscriber base, Airtel has launched a new facility that will allow users to customise their tariff plan according to their usage.
Called ‘My Plan’ , it enables consumers to chose from multiple options and even change the package once a month without any additional fee.
Flexibility factor
Speaking to Business Line , Govind Rajan, CMO - Consumer Business, Bharti Airtel, said that lack of flexibility in post-paid tariff plans was one of the factors putting off users from moving from pre-paid platform to post-paid.
Existing post-paid plans are highly restrictive as it comes with a predetermined set of free usage services. There are over 5,000 tariff plans, each with specific services. Under the new scheme, users will be able to pick the freebies according to their need.
For example, under the Rs 299 rental plan, one can pick 8 free packs that can be combination of services including 75 minutes of free STD calls, 250 MB of 2G Internet and 40 minutes of outgoing roaming. Users will be able to change the free pack or the rental plan once every month. So if a subscriber is planning to travel more in a particular month, he can opt for multiple free roaming packs for that month without changing the base rental plan.
Nearly 95 per cent of the mobile users in the country are on pre-paid platform because it is seen as platform that’s simple and easy to manage.
Post-paid connections are generally perceived to be more complex. But operators get higher revenue per month from post-paid subscribers. While the operators had hoped that pre-paid users would eventually shift to a post-paid bill plan, this has not happened.
Airtel is hoping that the concept of offering a choice of freebies worth up to Rs 2,000 will attract pre-paid users to migrate.
Rajan said that Airtel will now aggressively launch initiatives such as the My Plan to make the shift happen quicker.
New scheme
Under the new scheme, Bharti Airtel will now allow post-paid customers to customise their bill plans according to their unique preferences. Customers will have the freedom to create a tailor-made plan in just 3 steps which they can easily manage.
Airtel said this was the first time that any telecom operator in the country was offering such flexibility. “We are looking at growing the share of post-paid user base to double digits over the next few years,” said Rajan.
Analysts said that telecom companies in India will increasingly target post-paid users in their efforts to improve revenues.
> thomas.thomas@thehindu.co.in
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